Bang, Bang, Bang
by Ill-Eagle
Summary: Bella's a savvy detective who gets thrown into the world of mobs and a pretty fashion designer. All human. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**It's been awhile since I've written something, and I have a feeling this fic will be longer than my other one. Anyway, I hope this doesn't suck.**

**And just so we're clear, I don't own these characters, just the ideas. So, don't kick my ass, 'kay?**

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><p><strong>Prologue:<strong>

A low grunt emitted from his lips as he heaved the bag over his shoulders, eyeing his partner that sat in the driver's seat. He slammed the trunk shut with his left hand, the other supporting the bag. Taking measured steps to the railing of the bridge, he began to hum. The weight on his shoulders was forgotten until he looked down towards the moving current.

"How far is this drop?" he called to the car.

His partner hastily rolled down the window, sighing. "900 feet, I think. Will you just drop the damn thing already? We're wasting time."

He chuckled at his partner's impatience. "What, are you afraid we'll be caught or something? Don't worry about it. Wouldn't want ya' to get any wrinkles early on."

"Just do it already. Don't you have to get home tonight? Isn't it date night for you and the wife?"

"That it is, but I'd rather much be out with you, handsome." He chuckled to himself, before slightly bending his knees and bringing both hands to clutch at the bag. He shifted the bag from his shoulder into his arms, before leaning over the railing. He paused, angling his head toward the car.

"Well?"

"Well, what? Drop the damn thing."

"You don't wanna come out and watch? You're gonna miss my favorite part."

"Which is?"

"Hearing it hit the water."

"Just drop it and get in the car."

With a grin, he turned his head back to looking at the current beneath the bridge. He rested the bag on the railing slightly, before pushing it completely off and into the water. He stood, hands resting on the railing, eyes closed. He took a deep breath, holding it in until he heard the splash. Letting out his breath, he turned and headed towards the car.

"See? Easy." He slid into the passenger side, flashing his best smile.

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><p>It was 1:30 and Gathering Grounds was finally losing the lunch crowd. She ripped away at the edges of the napkin wrapped around her scone, appetite gone. <em>'Was it my fault?'<em>

She bit her lip, thinking back on the past few months. Her relationship had completely gone down the toilet faster than any of her other relationships. _'Was it something I did? Something I said?'_

She snorted. _'Of course it was something I did. I'm a fuckin' homicide detective. I work doctor hours without the pay. How many times have I been told that my job got in the way?'_

Slightly frustrated, she stopped tearing at the napkin. _'Well, my fuckin' bad that I chose to be one. It's not like I never made it clear that my job comes first.'_

She was snapped out of her rant by the insistent ringing coming from her hip. _'Speak of the devil. It's what I get for being on call.'_

Sliding her phone from her hip, she answered: "Swan."

"Hey, we got a body. Rock Creek."

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><p>By the time Bella got there, her partner Edward was already there, speaking with Angela. She flashed her badge and went under the police tape, heading toward the two of them. "What do we have?"<p>

"A body." Angela deadpanned.

"Thank you, Captain Duh," she drawled. "C'mon. Seriously now."

Edward shrugged. "All we know is that we've got a body that was in a bag. Couple of teenagers were down here goofing off and saw it floating around. They opened it up and there it was."

She nodded slowly, eyes taking note of the body. _'Pretty bruised up… and a bit of blood, too. She's kind of pretty. Well, you know, if she weren't dead.'_

"Carlisle? What've you got?" She angled her head slightly to see the coroner, his slick blonde hair the only thing she could see of him as he studied the body.

"A couple of bruises and cuts… and abrasions on her wrists and ankles. Not too sure about cause of death though. Could be a lot of things. She could've drowned for all we know. I'll have to run a few tests."

Bella bit her lip, nodding as she listened. She then turned to Edward. "There's a bridge right? That's nearby?"

"Yeah, Taft, I think."

"I'll check it out later."

Edward nodded. They stood there for a few minutes as the body was packed and headed for the morgue. "So."

She quirked a brow. "So?"

"Heard you got dumped."

She groaned. Gossip travelled too fast these days in her opinion. "Yeah, something like that. What's it to you?"

"Just wanted to hear it from you, is all."

"Yeah, yeah. I got dumped on my ass because I work too much and all that. You've heard it before, no need for me to go into details."

"Hey, on the plus side, I'd never dump your ass for another partner." Edward grinned, slapping her on the back.

Bella rolled her eyes, smiling nonetheless. "I wouldn't trade you either. Your dumbass mistakes make me look like a homicide detective god."

Edward snorted, hitching his thumb over his back. "In your dreams. Angela's more badass."

"What the- fuck you." She chuckled, stuffing her hands into her jacket. "Well, guess I'll head on back and wait for any results."

"Geez, getting started already? No wonder the ladies drop you like a hot potato."


	2. Chapter 2

With a huff, she tossed her pencil onto the table. Her fingers gently traced her most recent sketch, from the plunging neckline to the cinched waist, then further down. The residue from the lead stuck to her finger, causing her to rub her thumb and index together. _'Why isn't anything coming out the way I want them to? I see it in my mind and it's perfect, but once I start drawing, I feel like it's missing something. But what is it?'_

Her gaze went back to her sketch, tapping her fingers on her desk. _'How long am I gonna be in this rut? Deadline's next week and I've only got a few of my sketches which are already made, for crying out loud.'_

She shifted her sketchbook to the side to see the calendar below it, her finger hovering over November 18th. _'Today's the 18__th__… I've got 'til the 24__th__ to finish the sketches in order to make sure everything's made for December 3__rd__.' _She sighed, running her hand through her hair, which had grown out more than she's let it before, her hair reaching mid back. _'Wait… the 18__th__. There was something I had to do tonight. What was I supposed to do?'_

The shrill ring of her cell phone caused her head to snap up as she blinked a few times. She reached for it in her desk drawer, noting it was her mother.

"Hi, mom," she chirped.

"Hi, sweetie. I just called to remind you that we're having a family dinner tonight."

She groaned. _That's _what she forgot. "Right, of course. How could I forget that?"

Her mother chuckled. "Sweetie, you may be a great designer but your memory? Especially with how hectic things are for you lately? You'd be lucky enough to remember to put on underwear."

She blushed, leaning back into her chair so she could stare at her ceiling. She pulled her pencil from behind her ear and began to tap it on her thigh; trying to think how she could make up the time she'd lose if she went to the family dinner.

"You are coming, aren't you?"

She bit her lip, then sighed. "Of course, mom. I wouldn't miss it. What time again?"

"Mmm, I told everyone seven-thirty. Will that be alright for you? I know you've been in a rut lately."

She smiled softly and glanced down at her watch. 4:48. "No, don't worry. Seven-thirty sounds perfect. Do you want me to pick anything up for you?"

"Dessert would be nice. I'm running a little behind myself. I've barely got the lasagna in the oven and about to start the garlic bread."

"You got it. I'll be there. Maybe a little earlier than everyone else though."

"That's no problem at all, sweetie. I'll see you then."

She ended the call, dropping it into her purse. She glanced at her sketchbook, biting her lip. _'If I get there early, I can get some done. Maybe I'll be inspired at mom's or something.'_ She shoved the sketchbook into her bag then headed out of her office, passing by her sketches that had come to life, hanging on a rack.

She slowed her pace, gently fingering the fabric of the blazer, then the dress, then the trousers. She huffed. _'This most definitely isn't enough. Three things and they don't even go together.'_

She started heading for the door, pausing to look at her secretary's desk, which was currently empty. _'Huh. I guess Jessica took off early for the day. She probably said something about it, but I've been so wrapped up in trying to get new designs.' _With a small sigh, Alice began to make her way again, hands in her pockets.

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><p><em>'Dessert. What should I get for dessert? Well, I like cake. Okay, does everyone else like cake?' <em>She snorted. Of _course _they did. _'Okay, I like chocolate cake. Who doesn't like chocolate in the family? Wait, that's silly. Last Halloween, everyone fought for the chocolate that was left over.'_

She circled the dessert tables, eyeing each one. _'Oh man, that triple chocolate fudge looks _amazing._ Oh my god, are those brownie bites? God, how am I going to _pick?_ Maybe I'll get both—are those chocolate cookies _with _chocolate chips? I'm in Heaven.' _Her stomach growled softly, her cheeks reddening. _'Okay, so it's still a bad idea to shop for dessert when hungry.'_

"You should get the cake."

Her head whipped around, finally noticing the girl that stood at another dessert table. "The cake?"

"The one you were looking at. Triple chocolate fudge right? Out of that entire table, it's my favorite."

"And the brownie bites?"

"Just as delicious."

She grinned. "I won't be making a mistake if I trust you…?"

"Bella."

"So, you promise it'll be worth buying?"

"That I do. If not, you can come back right here tomorrow, same time, and I'll buy you another one, of your choice."

She grinned. "Deal."

"So, uh. I'm Bella and you're…?" Bella inwardly groaned. _'That was not as suave as I wanted it to be.' _

"Alice." She picked up the cake, eyeing it. _'It'll definitely be enough for everyone, especially if it's as good as she says it is.'_

"Nice choice." Bella smiled, slightly crooked.

"Thank you. I've got excellent taste."

Bella began browsing the dessert again as Alice stood there, taking the chance to look at her. _'Blazer, button up, suit pants… Teacher? Nah, she doesn't look the type. Business woman? No, she'd be giving commentary on everything. Then again, if she was the boss, that'd be good. She'd know what she wants. She's more comfort though. Her hair's a little messy… it's probably been a long day for her. I can't tell if her hair's dark brown or not. It could be the lighting.' _She travelled lower, suddenly meeting amused chocolate brown eyes. Her cheeks reddened, heart pounding at being caught.

"Well, I'm gonna… check out." Alice paused. _'Wait, that didn't sound right…'_ " The cake! I meant, check out the cake. To pay." Alice bit her lip, mentally slapping herself. "It was nice meeting you, Bella."

"Same here." Bella grinned, eyes twinkling as she watched Alice leave.


	3. Chapter 3

As the elevator doors slid open, Bella hastily made her way out. She pulled the plastic container of brownie bites out of the grocery bag and tossed it into a trashcan along the way. Her thumb rubbed against the outer edge of the lid, debating whether she wanted to open it or not. _'If I open it now, Edward and Angela might still be here. Then they'd know I kept a stash at my desk and I'd have to _share. _But, what if they're not here? I'd be waiting for no reason.'_

She huffed, peering through the door to see her desk, eyes bouncing to Edward's then Angela's. _'They're not here? Yes!' _With a grin, she strolled in and plopped down into her chair. She popped the lid open, and took out a brownie bite. _'Just one, and then I'll go down and talk to Carlisle.'_

Bella inhaled slightly, enjoying the smell of the brownies that came from the container. She popped the brownie bite into her mouth, groaning softly. She closed the container after grabbing one more shamelessly, and then placed the container into the bottom drawer on the right side, beneath old papers.

Before she could decide on going down to talk to Carlisle or just picking up the autopsy report, she heard a pair of footsteps then silence. She lifted her head and angled it to her right, Carlisle's hazel eyes already on her, his brow raised.

Bella looked at him then to where he was looking, blushing softly.

"Uh, brownie bite?" she offered.

He shook his head, gently placing a folder onto her desk. "Thanks, but I'll have to pass. I came to drop off the autopsy report. I've got a family dinner to get to tonight and it's…" He glanced at his watch. "It's already 5:30. I was planning on picking up some wine."

"Oh. Thanks, then. Do you mind giving me a brief run down before you go or…?"

Carlisle grinned. "I had a feeling you'd ask, which is why I grabbed everything before coming up here." He opened the folder, pointing to the pictures. "A white female in her twenties to early thirties," Carlisle stated. "Abrasions on her wrists show that she was tied up before she died. There are multiple bruises on the inside of her legs, which may be a sign of sexual assault, but I'll do some tests for that." He tapped at a picture that was clipped to the bottom right. "Two gunshot wounds straight at her chest, which is probably how she died. I'll run ballistics and test to see what made the abrasions on her wrists, but it seems like our killer didn't beat around the bush with this one."

"Do we know who this is?"

"Not yet. Blood results should be in Monday."

"Okay, thanks Carlisle. Have a good weekend." Bella smiled softly, and then glanced down at the report.

"You too, Bella. Try not to stay too late, huh? You've been on call all week and staying later than everyone else. You keep that up and I'll start to wonder if you really do any work when you take files home."

She smiled sheepishly, shrugging. "What can I say? I've got a lot of time on my hands. I may as well use it doing something productive."

"I don't think sitting around and eating brownie bites count as doing something productive. Maybe in gaining weight, but I think that's about it. Don't get me started on how unhealthy those are."

Bella's head shot up, eyes narrowed slightly until she noticed the playful gleam in his eyes. "Don't you have a dinner to get to?"

"What're you having for dinner, Bella?"

Taken aback slightly, Bella paused, lips forming a small frown at the change of mood. "Um, I don't know yet. Maybe I'll pick up Chinese on the way home."

"Oh, that's right. Edward did mention that earlier."

"What? That's right _what? _What did Edward say?"

"He mentioned that you're single now, that's all. Understandable. When I was single and worked late, I always ate out."

"I'm never telling Edward anything ever again," Bella muttered.

"Nonsense. You don't have to worry about me telling anyone, but honestly, did you think I wouldn't find out with the way gossip travels here?"

She shrugged. "I was hoping it wouldn't reach you but I guess I was wrong. Besides, maybe I _do _know how fast gossip is and decided not to mention that I'm seeing someone new. What if she's making me dinner tonight and we're going to have this wonderful, magical, romantic weekend together?" Bella huffed, crossing her arms as she leaned back into her chair.

Carlisle chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Bella, I've known you since you and Edward became friends at the police academy. I know when you're lying, kiddo. So, instead of eating take out Chinese, why not come over for dinner? The whole family's coming together tonight and Esme's making lasagna."

Bella began to shake her head. "No, Carlisle, it's okay. Really. It's a _family _dinner, not family plus Bella."

"Bella, please. Edward will be there, you've got nothing to worry about. Besides, Esme's been planning on having you over for dinner. What better time than now?"

"I don't wanna go unannounced, Carlisle. Or last minute. It's rude." She began to fumble with her fingers, avoiding his eyes. "I know you think I'll say yes but I can't. You should have a night with your family before we get more bodies or something."

_"Bella."_

"Carlisle, honest. I'll be fine with chow mein for dinner."

"I won't be. Come on, Bella. When was the last time you came for dinner? When you became detective, right? That's almost been two years. You know very well that Esme made more than any of us could finish. One more person won't hurt."

"If I go, will you look at this report with me?"

"After dessert, maybe. If Esme doesn't get mad about it."

Bella tilted her head left and right, debating. "Okay. I hope you're good at convincing her to say yes, Carlisle." She stood up, grabbing the autopsy report. "It's… 6:45. What time is dinner?"

"7:30, I believe."

She cringed. "Cutting it close, don't you think, Carlisle?"

He shrugged. "I had to round up one more dinner guest." He squeezed her shoulder. "I better get going. I still have to pick up the wine. Do you still remember how to get there?"

"Do you still live in that mansion you call a house?"

"Ah, yes. It's not really a mansion Bella-"

She held her hand up. "It's big. Huge, really. It's a mansion in my book. I'll see you there."


	4. Chapter 4

**You guys, I woke up and checked my e-mail and literally freaked out. I mean, I can't even. I blushed and freaked out like a little girl. /facepalm.**

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><p>Bella stood anxiously at the front door, her eyes glancing back to her car every now and then. She had been standing there for a good few minutes until finally ringing the doorbell. She clutched at the file, her nerves getting the better of her as she shifted from foot to foot. <em>'Get a grip, Bella. You've been here before, what're you so nervous for?'<em> She felt off. In the pit of her stomach, she didn't feel right but when the front door swung open, she smiled slightly.

"Hi, Esme." She gave her a half-hearted wave.

"Bella!" Esme wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a hug. Bella's arms immediately went around the older woman's waist, squeezing slightly before letting go. "I wasn't expecting you to come. When Carlisle told me, I thought he was just pulling my leg." She ushered Bella inside, and walked with her past the living room, through the kitchen, and into the backyard.

Bella smile sheepishly. "Sorry I haven't been coming around lately. I've just been busy, is all."

"I bet you are. Go on and sit. Enjoy the night. We're still waiting for Edward and Jasper." And with that, Esme was back inside.

Bella's eyes scanned the backyard, noting the flower garden a little to her left and the small man-made pond which, if Carlisle still tended to it, had koi fish. She made her way to the porch swing that was to her right which sat near a lamp. Plopping down, Bella dropped the autopsy report beside her. She sat with one leg bent beneath her, the other firmly on the ground, allowing her to push the swing slightly.

"Are you following me?"

Her eyes snapped to the flower garden. _'No fuckin' way. You're _kidding _me.'_

"Well? Are you?"

She cleared her throat, shaking her head no. Alice began to make her way over, her sketchbook clutched against her chest. Bella eyed her, noticing that she changed out of her button up and skirt. Now, she was simply dressed in jeans and a white blouse._ 'Um, why didn't you wear _this _at the grocery store?'_ Once she reached the porch swing, Alice tilted her head. "Room for one more?"

Blushing slightly, Bella nodded. "Um, yeah, of course. Totally." Bella grabbed the autopsy report that rested beside her and dropped it onto her thighs.

Alice grinned, dropping herself onto the porch swing, causing it to sway further back. "So, what brings you here?"

"Esme's lasagna." Bella grinned. "That, and Carlisle said he'd go over the report with me."

Alice chuckled. "Yeah, I don't usually turn down a meal that Esme's cooked." She brought both legs up and tucked them beneath her, angling her body to face Bella. She rested her head in the palm of her hand, noting how the glow of the lamp caused Bella's hair look lighter than it did than at the grocery store.

They both sat there in silence, the night sky already dark. Bella tilted her head upwards slightly, noting that it was a full moon. _'Way to go, Swan. Avoiding eye contact _and _conversation. That'll _definitely _score you brownie points with her.' _She rolled her eyes.

Alice furrowed her brow before lowering her sketch book into her lap. She glanced back at Bella, making sure she was still looking at the moon. Flipping through the pages to find a clean one, Alice's hand quickly slipped the pencil that was perched behind her ear and began to outline Bella's profile. She kept her head bent down, the image of Bella already memorized in her mind. _'Wait. I don't sketch people.' _She paused. _'What am I sketching her for?'_

Alice stopped then, slapping her sketchbook shut, slightly frustrated but more confused. Bella's eyes snapped towards the sound, eyebrow raised.

"I'm gonna go inside and see if Esme needs help," Alice stated flatly. She stood, causing the porch swing to shift harshly, making her way back inside.

Bella blinked a few times, eyes narrowing slightly. _'Okaaay, that wasn't weird. I hope she didn't think I was ignoring her or anything… I mean, I wasn't. Not on purpose. No way. She looked pretty good in those jeans though. No, not just good. Better than good. Yeah, I definitely need a cold drink for this one. Maybe not if she keeps randomly slapping her book shut and leaving after we had an okay conversation. Uh, however short it was.' _She rolled her eyes, directing her attention back to the moon. _'Women.'_

"Bella!"

She blew out a breath. _'No peace. Ever.'_

"Hi, Edward." She stood slowly, stretching her back.

"Glad you could make it. C'mon. It's time to eat."

They both made their way inside, Bella's thumb rubbing against the edge of the folder. She could hear voices inside, mostly Esme's as she tried to get everyone round up and in the dining room. Spotting a small table off to the side in the dining room, she placed the folder there, before turning to look at the table. _'Well crap. It's like they could've invited half the town.'_

Everyone began taking their seats, Bella watching. _'Oh fuck. Where do _I _sit?'_

"Bella. Come on, sit next to me. I won't bite ya'." _'Saved!'_

She sat down beside Edward, mentally slapping herself when she realized she was sitting directly across from Alice _'Fuck me sideways. This _would _happen to me.'_

Bella finally noticed the man sitting beside Alice, and a woman on the other side of him. Bella looked down the table, seeing someone else next to Edward. Her attention was brought to the lasagna that sat before her, the garlic bread right beside it.

"Before we start to eat, I think it's best if we introduce our dinner guest," Carlisle suggested. He stood at the end of the table, bottle of wine in hand. He turned to her, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, uh." Bella's cheeks began to suddenly turn pink. "I'm Bella?"

"She works with me." Edward stated. "We're partners. This bear of a man next to me is Emmett and that's his wife, Rosalie." Edward tilted his chin forward. "That's Jasper and the shorty over there is Alice." There was a small thump, causing Edward to grimace. "Did you just kick me?"

"My foot must've slipped," Alice deadpanned, shrugging her shoulders. She bit her lip, trying not to smile. "So, can we eat now?"

Esme huffed from her seat. "Go on. Dig in then."

With those few words, the noise level began to climb with the clinking of forks and spoons, voices trying to be heard over other conversations. She felt a nudge in her side.

"Salad?" Edward offered.

Bella scoffed. "No thanks. That's just gonna fill me up before I get to the best part." She reached for the garlic bread, taking a bite before dropping it onto her plate. Bella reached for the lasagna, cutting herself a piece and placing it on her plate. She began to rip up the garlic bread, letting the pieces land on her plate.  
>"<em>What <em>are you doing?"

She looked up at twinkling green eyes.

"Ripping my garlic bread, what else?" Alice's eyes widened. "What? I don't like having to put my fork down to pick up the garlic bread."

"Right." Alice shook her head slightly with a small smile. A hand rested on Alice's that was on the table, causing her to look at Jasper. They began to talk about something, Bella's focus on their hands which were now intertwined. There wasn't a ring on her finger and she couldn't see Jasper's. Her eyes snapped up at the sight of something shining. A necklace. With a ring. Bella's eyes shifted over to Jasper, finally noticing his necklace that was tucked into his v-neck. _'Oh for fuck's sake… you're kidding me. Way to go, Swan. You got the hots for a married woman.'_

Returning to her plate, Bella began to eat. _'At least the lasagna is great. Oh yeah, so much better than chow mein.'_ Somehow though, the lasagna just wasn't distracting enough. Her mind kept returning to that damn necklace. _'What the fuck, man. What do I care that she's not single? So what? It's happened before. So why the hell does it bug me so much? Jesus.' _Bella's eyes strayed from her plate back up to Alice, who was still wrapped up in her conversation with Jasper. She mentally groaned, eyes going back to her plate. _'If I keep looking at her, she's going to think I have some kinda staring problem. This is going to be a long dinner.'_

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><p>As everyone sat around in the living room, Bella's eyes darted from the folder to Carlisle. They'd just finished dessert and she was anxious. Edward was with Emmett, playing some video game while Rosalie was helping Esme clean up. Alice and Jasper were on the couch, half talking and half watching Edward and Emmett play against each other. Carlisle, though, sat in a large chair in the corner, a book in his lap.<p>

Throwing her hands up in defeat as subtly as possible, Bella made her way toward Carlisle.

"I was wondering when you'd ask."

She paused. "You're killing me here, Carlisle."

He chuckled. "Come on then. Let's look at the report. I got the okay from Esme way before dinner anyway."

"You just wanted to see me squirm, didn't you?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Maybe."

"Carlisle!"

"What? I couldn't help myself. Let me just make a quick phone call, okay? Help yourself and try out the chair."

Bella nodded, watching as Carlisle headed out of the living room and into a hallway. She looked back at the chair, the leather still shining. She glanced over her shoulder, and then dropped herself into the chair. _'I always thought it was awkward sitting on a chair that's already warm.'_ She shifted a little, feeling awkward.

"Yes!" Emmett stood, arms raised. "I win! I do believe that you owe me 5 bucks and a chocolate milkshake, Eddie."

"Should'a known." Edward stood. "Alright, let me run upstairs and grab my wallet."

"Hey, don't think you're gonna pull a fast one over me. Last time you said that, you locked yourself in your room until I left!" Emmett stood then, following Edward.

Bella realized then that it was just Jasper, Alice, and her. She realized that they had stopped talking. She ducked her head, opening the folder and going over what Carlisle had already told her. _'Something is just… not right with this. Usually, there's some elaborate shit going on but this is just so straightforward. Were they so desperate to just kill her and have it over with?'_

"They were in a rush, weren't they?"

"Mm, yeah."

Carlisle set a stool beside the leather chair, a knock at the door preventing him from sitting.

"Ah, hold on."

_'What the- who would be coming at…' _she glanced at her watch. _'10:17?'_

She strained her hearing, but Alice and Jasper had started to talk again causing Bella to clench her jaw. She watched as Carlisle made his way with a small box tucked under his arm. He set it on a small table near a window. "Sorry about that. Let's get started." He slid onto the stool, looking at the papers while Bella's mind was still on the small package.


	5. Chapter 5

**GazerBlitz: Right, sorry, I just realized I didn't elaborate whatsoever. My bad, haha. I freaked out at the fact that people actually liked this at all. I really had low expectations on any responses or anyone really liking this fic so I was a little surprised when I checked my e-mail. Not to mention I was a little nervous to read the reviews. /facepalm.**

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><p>Bella glanced at the digital clock to her right as she lay in bed. It was 9:19 and she'd been laying there for two hours. With a sigh, her gaze returned to the ceiling of her bedroom. Arms crossed and beneath her head, she went over last night with Carlisle.<p>

_Carlisle pulled the folder closer to him, examining the picture closely and making the occasional comment. Bella had lost interest, feeling like they were getting absolutely nowhere. It was 11:45 and she was exhausted. She had stared at those pictures for what seemed like forever and couldn't find anything to go off on. _

_Her mind was more interested on that damn package that she had no business with. It just bothered her that someone would drop off something so late. Bella had always wondered about Carlisle. He had the habit of disappearing for a few days and then coming back completely different. He was usually a friendly person, taking jokes in stride, and usually dealing with stupid questions. Whenever he came back though, he was quiet, impatient, and had a bad temper. Whatever it was that he did when he was gone wasn't any of Bella's business but sometimes, her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She had asked Edward once and he merely shrugged, even though she had the feeling he knew exactly where Carlisle was and what he was doing._

_She was pulled out of her thoughts when Carlisle placed his hand on her shoulder. "Bella, do you see this?"_

_ She moved closer to the folder, squinting her eyes to try and see better. "Sort of? It looks like the beginning of a scar." _

_ "I never liked cases that involved dead bodies and water," he mumbled. "It's like they can explode at any moment. I'll make a note to check that out Monday."_

_ "Hopefully that'll give us something to go with." She stood up, stretching her arms. "I'll see you Monday, Carlisle."_

_ "You're leaving?" He raised a brow._

_ "I don't know what else to do. I've looked at this report for so long, I'm starting to see it when I close my eyes. I need a break."_

_ He nodded, closing the folder and handing it to her. "I'll walk you out."_

She let out another sigh and turned onto her side, staring at the digital clock. She laid there until the numbers changed almost five times before rolling out of bed. Going through her usual morning routine, Bella's thoughts drifted to Alice and Jasper. _'How did I miss that damn ring?' _She tugged her bedroom door open, the sound of paws making their way toward her quickly.

She squatted, her hand immediately going around her dog's neck, pulling him into a hug. "G'morning, Bernie," she murmured. Every time she said his name, she couldn't help but smile. Bella let go of him, heading into the kitchen and making herself a bowl of cereal. "Did you sleep well?"

She left her bowl of cereal on the kitchen counter, heading over to his bowl to pour in his breakfast. "Of course you slept well; I know you were on the couch the whole night. I better not find a chewed up corner, buddy."

Bella returned to her bowl of Frosted Flakes, stirring it before taking a bite. "So, I went to dinner last night, right?" She looked over at Bernie, his head buried in his bowl. "And guess who I saw? C'mon, guess," she prodded. "No? Okay, fine, it was the girl I told you about from the grocery store. The one I thought was really cute? Anyway, I found out she isn't single." Bernie's head lifted, then tilted to the left. "Right? It was my fault though. I mean, what made me think she was single in the first place?"

Bella glanced down to her half-eaten bowl of cereal, appetite gone. She put it in the sink, turning to look at Bernie who had turned to his water bowl. "Wanna go to the dog park in a bit?" Bernie looked up, licking his nose and lips. Bella grimaced. "I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

><p>She squatted down low, eye level with Bernie. "You be a good boy, okay? We're out in public here, so don't do anything bad." She unclipped his leash, standing back up, her eyes watching him trot to the center of the dog park. Bella made her way to a nearby tree, settling herself onto the floor and leaning back against it. Bernie had started following a small beagle, an obvious difference in their size. She smiled slightly at his eagerness to follow, until she noticed them both stop in front of someone. Bella slowly stood up and began to make her way over, taking the time to look at the person.<p>

_'A girl. Okay, let's hope she isn't some secret dog killer who's trying to kidnap them both.' _As she got closer, she bit her lip. _'Okay, let's _really _hope she isn't a criminal. Brunette, light eyes… definitely taller than me.'_

With a sigh, she picked up her pace. Bernie had his head turned in her direction, watching, tail moving from side to side. Finally reaching them, Bella noted that she was taller than her by at least three inches and her eyes were green. _'Like Alice. Oh, fuck. No comparisons, Bella, she's her own person.'_

"Hi."

Bella knelt down beside Bernie, gently patting his head. _'No eye contact, no eye contact. Wait, that didn't work last time… Aw, fuck it. It's too late now.' _ "Sorry if he's bugging you. I guess he just got taken with your dog."

She shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's good for her to make some new friends. I'm Olivia."

Her eyes left the top of Bernie's head to Olivia's. _'Oh fuck, eye contact. Screw it.' _"Bella."

Olivia nodded. "What's his name?"

"Bernie." Bella heard a small chuckle. "And yours?"

"Juliet."

Bella grinned. "Does that mean my Bernie doesn't stand a chance?" She stood up, hand resting on Bernie's head, occasionally scratching. "Is it his name? It's not my fault, you know."

"It's not your fault? You gave your Bernese mountain dog the name Bernie. I think that's very much all you."

Bella huffed. "It's not my fault, okay? I got him when I was a kid and Bernese was just a mouthful for me. It was a good name when I was nine."

"Well, I'm not one to decide who Juliet becomes friends with. It's all up to her."

"And you? Does Juliet decide who you become friends with?"

Olivia shrugged, a small smile gracing her lips. "Not really, but she's a good judge of character."

Bella nodded. She felt the loss of Bernie's head beneath her fingertips as he left with the small beagle to the center of the park again, both following another dog. "Are you new here?"

"We're new to the park but not to the town. We've been here for a few months. I've been looking for a job and I recently got an interview set up later today, but we'll see how that goes. And you?"

"Born and raised, actually. What kind of work do you do?"

Olivia cleared her throat, eyes suddenly focused on the floor. "Uh, I used to dance."

Bella narrowed her eyes. "Dance? Like, choreography and music videos and stuff?"

"Not exactly…"

"Okay… so, what kind of dancing do you do? Ballroom? Tango? Foxtrot?"

Olivia mumbled, stuffing her hand into the pockets of her coat.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Exotic," she muttered.

"What?"

"Exotic! I was an 'exotic' dancer."

Bella felt the heat creep up on her cheeks, finally registering what Olivia had said. "Oh, um… I didn't know you needed to do interviews for… that."

"You don't. This is a completely different job. More… secretary work, actually."

Bella nodded. "That's… nice."

"Yeah."

They stood there, neither of them speaking for about ten minutes. _'Oh god, an exotic dancer?' _Bella took in a deep breath, looking up at the sky. _'Fuck it. That's it Swan, you're not gonna let little things like that stop you from asking her out on a date… well, unless she's completely straight. Oh for crying out loud, why do I do this to myself?'_

"So, what do you do?"

"Oh, uh, I'm a homicide detective."

Olivia grimaced. "You mean with dead bodies and stuff?"

Bella smiled, lowering her eyes from the sky to look at Olivia. "Yeah, that. It's not too bad though. You get used it to it."

"I don't think I ever could get used to something like that. It's just…" Olivia shuddered. "I can barely handle fake blood and guts in movies but you see the real thing almost every day."

_'Jesus, Swan, you suck at picking up chicks. How the hell do you go from dead bodies to asking her out? Or figuring out if she even _swings _that way?' _Bella mentally groaned, clenching her jaw. _'You know what, fuck it. I'm just gonna ask and hope that she doesn't get freaked the fuck out.'_

"So…" Bella mentally smacked herself. _'Not suave, Swan, not at all.'_

"So?"

"Did you, uh, wanna go out sometime?" Bella cringed at the way her voice squeaked at the end, eyes on her shoes.

Olivia raised a brow, angling her head to look at Bella. "Just out of curiosity, what made you think I was gay?"

"Oh, uh, no reason. I just asked for the sake of asking. I mean, nothing to lose, right?"

"Hm."

"Hm? _Hm? _What does that mean?"

Olivia shrugged, eyes returning to look at the center of the dog park. Her eyes roamed, looking for the small flash of white and brown of her beagle. With a low whistle, Olivia watched as Juliet made her way to them both with a bouncing Bernie following close behind. She unclipped a leash from the belt loop of her jeans, kneeling once the dogs reached them. Olivia clipped the leash to Juliet's collar before standing back up. Bella's eyes followed her every move, her heart pounding. _'Oh man, I messed that up. I totally crossed a line I shouldn't have. I should've asked if she was gay in the first place. Look what I've done-'_

"I'd like that, a lot."

"What?"

"I said, I'd like-"

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Bella shook her head. "Sorry, just… I thought I crossed a line I shouldn't have by assuming you'd be interested or gay for that matter, and I thought I insulted you so I guess I'm just a little surprised-"

"Bella, are you going to give me your number or do you not wanna go out at all?" Olivia raised a brow, holding out her phone toward Bella.

"Um, right. Sure." She took her phone and punched in her number, fingers slightly shaking. She handed Olivia's phone back, letting out a small breath of relief.

"I'll call you after my interview and we'll make plans. That okay?"

Bella nodded. "Perfect."

* * *

><p>Alice gently closed the door to her office, brows furrowed. <em>'Jessica's been gone for two days and she hasn't called me at all. I feel horrible for doing this but… I don't have the time to wait for her to show up. I need <em>help._'_

She plopped down into her seat, pulling her organizer from her bag and flipped to November 20th. The red ink from her pen stood out against the usually empty organizer. With a sigh, Alice leaned back in her chair and glanced at her watch. 4:15. _'15 minutes then to work.'_

She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. _'I don't know if I can deal with this rut. Ever since dinner, I can't stop looking at that stupid sketch I started of Bella. I know she saw my ring, too. It's like her eyes were glued to it.' _Her hand lifted slightly, fingers rubbing against the ring. _'The look on her face… It's like she found out her dog died. Not to mention she barely spoke to anyone during dinner and dessert, aside from Carlisle.'_

The sound of a door opening and closing caused Alice to open her eyes. She stood up, making her way out of her office, eyes immediately drawn to the tall brunette that stood near the door. She looked at her watch again. 4:27. _'She's early. That's… good. Even if it's just by three minutes.'_

Alice held her hand out, a small smile on her lips. "Hi."

"Hi." A firm hand grasped Alice's, giving a small squeeze before releasing it completely.

"I'm Alice. Glad you could make it."

"It's no problem at all. Better to do it now than wait and get kicked out of my apartment." The brunette grinned, Alice noting the faint dimples.

"Well, come on into my office, Olivia. We'll get the interview started."


	6. Chapter 6

**xo-j-e-i-j-a-h-xo: Hahha, I think it's a bit amusing when people talk to their dogs. I kinda find it cute, but it freaks me out when someone talks to their pets in completely different voices. But since Bella lives alone, she's gotta talk to someone, right? (x**

**Sara: You should have, but you didn't, thank goodness. If you did, then I must be terribly obvious, which would be really bad. It'd ruin my plot completely hahha.**

* * *

><p>Alice tapped her pencil on her sketch pad, chin resting in the upturned palm of her left hand as she looked out of the window in her office. She had finished two sketches the previous night and the fact that it was Monday had her lacking in the inspiration department. Alice's door was wide open, and if she leaned a bit toward the left, she'd see Olivia just outside her door at her desk.<p>

She found Olivia to be an eager person, hopeful for the job. With that, Alice was satisfied. If she did what she had to do, then that's all that mattered. Alice had arrived around nine this morning, only to find Olivia there with an empty mug of coffee, phone held against her ear by her shoulder, as she tried to get things back into order when Jessica was gone.

Alice had flashed a smile on her way in and three hours later, things had calmed down and Olivia was tinkering with the little things at her desk. The rustling of fabric and sowing machines were faint from where Alice sat; glad that she had finished the two sketches she had started on so that they could finally be made. With a small grumble from her stomach, she glanced at her watch. 12:07.

Alice stood, grabbed her bag, making sure her phone was inside, and headed to Olivia's desk. She leaned against it slightly, waiting for the brunette to look up from the calendar at her desk. It felt like an hour to Alice, when in reality, it was probably only ten minutes when her patience finally ran out.

"I hope you're not looking for the days you get off."

Olivia's head snapped upwards, green eyes slightly wide. "No, no. Just looking."

Alice nodded. "Well, I was about to get lunch. I wanted to know if you wanted to come with." Alice stared at Olivia, whose eyes seemed to have somehow widened even more, causing Alice to roll her own green eyes. "What? I get to know the people I work with. Jenny?" Alice angled her head to the right, at the blonde who was cutting fabric. "She moved here from Illinois three years ago. Not too great of a family so she left when she was eighteen. She first went to Boston and somehow gravitated here. Candace?" She hitched her thumb behind her back to the red-head that was at the sowing machine. "_She _was a _he _who also wanted a new start, so she moved from California to this small town. So, as I was saying, I like to get to know the people I work with. Lunch?"

Olivia only nodded, grabbing her things and making her way around her desk to stand beside Alice, the height between them an obvious difference. "Do you want me to follow you in my car or…?"

"Actually, there's a place just down the street. We can walk. No need to waste any gas."

The both of them made their way out of the studio and onto the sidewalk, the sun immediately warming them up. Alice tugged at the sleeve of her cardigan as they both began to walk, her eyes looking straight ahead.

"I was born in Utah." Alice's head stayed forward but her eyes shifted so she could see Olivia in her peripherals. Olivia kept her head forward also, hands stuffed into the pockets of her coat. "I had a pretty good family. Never had to worry about whether or not we'd have enough money to pay the bills but my family didn't indulge in material goods often. I grew up a good kid, never did anything wrong 'til I started high school."

Alice gently took a hold of Olivia's arm, stopping her. She tilted her head to her left, Olivia's head turning also. Gathering Grounds.

"It's a good café. They have good sandwiches." Alice smiled, making her way inside. "We can sit outside. The weather's really nice today."

Once they finished getting their sandwiches, they had found a vacant table outside. Olivia stared at Alice, as she began pouring in sugar to her iced tea. She glanced at her own cup of water and realized Alice probably wasn't someone that took what she ate and what she drank into consideration at all, causing her to smile softly.

Alice took a sip of her iced tea, satisfied as she placed it back onto the table, a napkin beneath the cup as a makeshift coaster. She raised a brow, realizing that Olivia was staring. Olivia cleared her throat, and picked up her sandwich.

After a few minutes of silent eating between the two, Alice's patience was starting to disappear. She sighed, placing her sandwich down into its plastic container and began to pick at the crust. Olivia only chuckled, placing her sandwich down as well. Alice merely rolled her eyes, her right hand lifting up and rotating in a circle, implying that Olivia should continue with her tale.

Olivia smiled, her dimples flashing. "When I started high school, I was really unsure of who I was. My friends all found their thing, you know? Some were jocks, band geeks, nerds…" She shrugged. "I was just me. I wasn't in any clubs, wasn't in a sport, didn't have any talents really, but somehow, I turned into the one that went to parties all the time. I used to get absolutely shitfaced but woke up the next day perfectly fine, ready for another party. I was always out during the summer, whether it was a huge party or a kickback. It was whatever, you know? I found my thing. I had friends and in high school, that's the one thing you don't wanna be without. It's not like I didn't talk to my other friends from junior high but they were all doing their own thing." Olivia took a sip of her water, licking her lips afterwards. "Anyway, that went on until my senior year. All throughout high school, I was so wrapped up in parties and people that didn't care about me at all. By the time people were filling out college applications, I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I hadn't thought about it at all. All those teachers and all those classes that were spent talking about colleges and options and jobs were just a blur to me. I didn't remember a thing. So, I went through senior year like all the other years. By that time though, the parties became bigger, more dangerous. Not like I paid any attention right?" Olivia chuckled, her eyes trained on Alice's fingers that were ripping at the crust of her sandwich. "You gonna keep doing that until you ruin the sandwich?"

Alice flushed, shaking her head softly. "Sorry. I always seem to do that. Guess I just gotta have my hands doing something at all times when I'm not sketching." She tucked her hands beneath her, sitting on them.

"Don't sweat it. I got some weird habits too." Olivia glanced at someone that walked past them, eyes returning to look at Alice. "Anyway, when graduation rolled around, I didn't know what to do with my life. I hadn't applied anywhere. I just felt like college wasn't my thing, you know? After sitting on my ass for a good couple of months, my parents were starting to get on my case, like all good parents that want nothing but the best for their kids, even if it means pushing them. Thing is, them pushing me made me push back and somehow, we weren't so close anymore. I did a lot of things that just didn't please them, including the job I got to make some money so I could move out."

"What, did you sell drugs?" Alice snorted, her eyes suddenly widening, her hand quickly coming up to cover her mouth. "That was not supposed to come out," she mumbled from behind her hand.

Olivia grinned. "The comment or the snort?"

Alice groaned, burying her face into her hands. "Just… go on with your story, please."

Stifling a chuckle, Olivia cleared her throat. "I was a stripper."

"What?" Alice's eyes widened, hands dropping from her face. "Well, now I understand why your parents weren't pleased."

"I needed a job. Besides, that didn't require very much of anything, you know? I was good at it. All those years in high school where all I did but go to parties paid off in a weird kind of way."

Before Alice could say anything, the ringing of a phone caused her to pause. Olivia jumped slightly before her hand reached into her bag, feeling around for her phone. Fishing it out from the bottom of her purse, she stared at the screen.

"Well? Aren't you going to answer it?"

"Oh, uh, right." Olivia hesitated, glancing at Alice before answering her phone. "Hi," she breathed. The tone of Olivia's voice gave away that whoever was calling was special. Alice tried to ignore the conversation but they were just sitting _so close _that she heard every word.

"No, it's okay, really. I'm eating now. You don't need to bring me anything, swear." Olivia's eyes twinkled, focused on the tree to her right. "Why do you wanna know so badly? You gonna kidnap me?" Olivia laughed outright, startling Alice, who had never heard her really laugh. "Fine, fine. I get off at four today. Now tell me." Olivia groaned, her voice taking on a dreaded tone. "Bella, please. Just tell me."

With that said, Alice's attention was completely focused on that conversation, even if it was one-sided. _'Bella? No way. It could be a coincidence…'_ Alice felt butterflies in her stomach, eyes subtly searching Olivia's face.

"No, that's totally okay. I'll see you tonight then." Olivia gently placed her phone back into her bag, a small smile gracing her lips. "Sorry about that."

Alice smiled tightly, shrugging her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. Lunch is lunch." She stood, grabbing her half-eaten sandwich and cup of iced tea. "I'm gonna head back. You go ahead and enjoy your lunch. See you back at the studio at one?"

Slightly taken aback, Olivia only nodded, eyes following Alice as she dumped her lunch into the trash.

* * *

><p>Carlisle stepped out of his car, already noting that Emmett had arrived early. He made his way into the warehouse, his steps echoing inside the mostly empty building, save for the machines that were left behind. The small package he had received Friday night was tucked neatly beneath his arm, already opened. He pushed a door open, a light bulb hanging from a single string from the ceiling, flickering occasionally.<p>

He closed the door gently behind him, moving toward the table that sat in the middle of the room. He tossed the package onto the table, eyes meeting Emmett's from across the table.

"It's a small wooden carving of a wolf."

"That it?" Emmett picked up the package, shaking it until the small carving fell out. Lifting it in his hands, he rolled it around.

"The autopsy I've been working on recently? The girl's got a scar on her lower back. Shape of a wolf. They basically branded her."

"Why her though?"

"Who knows? The only thing that's really bothering me is that she worked for Alice. Too close to home, in my opinion." Carlisle ran a hand through his usually perfect hair, which was an unruly mess after a long day. "I was thinking we keep an eye on Alice and her studio. Do background checks on everyone working in close contact with her too, just to be safe."

Emmett grunted, gripping the wolf. "You do that. I'm gonna pay Billy and Jacob a visit."

Carlisle sighed, shaking his head. "Don't. Not yet. Just because it's a wolf doesn't mean it's them. We can't just go around, pointing fingers with just that."

"What do you mean? It's a damn wolf, Carlisle. Who else do you think of when you see a wolf?"

"Just wait, Emmett."

"If we wait, they could be getting closer to Alice! I'm not going to risk her safety just because you don't wanna jump to conclusions."

"Emmett!" Carlisle tugged at the collar of his button up, sighing. "Emmett, I know you care for your sister. I do too. We just can't go barging onto their territory, saying that they killed a girl. For all we know, someone was trying to blackmail them and want a war to start. There are a lot of possibilities so please, for now, keep an eye on your sister. Do _not _do anything like going over there and throwing a fit. Please."

With a sigh, Emmett nodded. He dropped the carving on the floor, staring at it. "But Carlisle?" Emmett glanced over at him. "If they get close, like her studio?" Emmett's foot landed forcefully onto the wooden carving, breaking it.

"Always a fighter, aren't you?"

"It gets the job done, doesn't it?"

Carlisle shook his head. "Come on. Your mother's going to start to worry if we don't get home soon."

"I hope she made cookies. I've been craving for some for weeks." Emmett rubbed at his stomach, following Carlisle out of the warehouse. "See you then, pop."

Carlisle chuckled. "One moment, you wanna start a fight. The next, you want cookies? Some tough man you are." Carlisle slid into his car, immediately turning the heater on.

On the drive home, Carlisle passed by Alice's studio, which was completely dark. He slowed his car, eyes taking in as much as possible. With a satisfied nod, he turned his attention back to the road and sped up. Tomorrow, he'd call into work, requesting the next four days off. He'd use the time off to do the background checks, dig up things on their victim, and get a few people to keep a close eye on Alice and her studio.

Once that was out of the way, he'd set up a meeting with the boys and get a plan worked out if it really was Billy and Jacob who killed the girl. _'Well, I know I'll be sleeping damn well after this whole thing is figured out and done with.'_


	7. Chapter 7

**So, I had my last final Monday and I've got more free time than ever. I'll probably be updating more often now, not to mention that I'm not stressing about registering for classes (x It's now.. 3AM and I'm more awake than ever. I've been out of school for less than a week and my sleeping schedule is already ruined. /sigh**

**Gaskll: I'm sorry if I was confusing, haha. When I wrote that chapter, it was dominantly Bella's POV and because of that, she didn't bother asking if Alice was really married. They're just engaged. That's truly my mistake for not mentioning that. Again, really sorry. D:**

**Also, I don't own the song in here. I couldn't help myself. I've had that song on repeat all night tonight. :3**

* * *

><p>Bella sat at her desk, chair pushed back slightly as her right foot pushed, allowing her to slowly spin in a circle. "Today's going by so slow," she groaned.<p>

"Maybe you should actually do some work since, you know, you're _at work_," Angela stated, rolling her eyes. "Either that or take off early or something. I can't concentrate on these cold cases with you spinning. It's distracting as hell."

"Edward doesn't care, do you?" Bella stopped mid-spin, eyes on Edward who was hunched over his phone.

"What?" His head snapped up, brows furrowed.

"See? He doesn't care." Bella shrugged, pushing once again to spin a little faster than before.

"Yeah, _he _doesn't care but _I _do." Angela huffed, standing up from her desk. "I'm gonna go get some coffee."

Bella's eyes widened, stopping once again. "Gathering Grounds?" she asked, hopefully.

Angela snorted. "You wish. I'm not making the trip just for a cup. Some crappy caffeine from downstairs will do for the next few hours on my part. Want a cup?"

Bella grimaced, shaking her head. "I'll pass."

Edward watched Angela leave, clearing his throat afterwards. Setting his phone down onto his desk, he pushed his chair back from his desk and pushed himself toward Bella. His chair bumped against Bella's gently, causing her to look at him.

"You're crowding my personal space here, Edward."

He rolled his eyes, leaning back into his chair, staring. Bella fidgeted under his gaze, spinning once again but feeling awkward. The silence grew between them, Bella's spinning somehow speeding up as Edward's gaze stayed locked on her.

With a sigh, Bella stopped spinning, angling her head towards him. "What? Why do you keep _staring?_"

"Aren't you going to tell me?"

Bella raised a brow. "Tell you what?"

"Who you're dating."

Bella blushed, eyes wide. "How do you know I'm seeing someone?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "I've known you long enough. The only time you're _ever _bored at work is if there's something better than work. Knowing you, that's hard to top so it's either you're really hungry or you're seeing someone."

"What if work is just… really slow?"

"You're kidding, right? We've still got a murder to solve. I doubt you've forgotten. So?"

"I… it's nothing big."

"Nothing big? Bella, whoever it is has you counting down the hours until you can clock out of work. You _love _this job."

"I know I love this job but it's no big deal. We just met. It's… nice. Easy. We met at the dog park Sunday, hung out Monday night…" Bella shrugged, leaning her head back to rest on her chair.

"Sunday? Bella, it's Wednesday and you didn't even bothering to tell me? Or at least mention it?" Edward frowned.

"Wha- since when did I have to tell you every little detail about who I meet or who I'm talking to or who I'm dating? It's nothing serious, we _just _met."

"Yeah, but we're partners-"

"Yes, _partners. _The only reason we _are _is because of this job." Bella huffed, arms crossing.

"I share lots of things with you, though!"

"You chose to do that. I never asked you to tell me anything."

Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth, closing it at the sound of approaching footsteps. Bella and Edward turned to look, noting that it was Angela.

"What? What're you guys looking at?" Angela sat down at her desk, placing her cup of coffee down.

"Nothing," Bella muttered. She shot Edward a look, brow raised.

With a sigh, he gently pushed his chair back toward his own desk, shoulders slumped. Reaching his desk, he scooted in closely, opening a folder and staring at its contents.

"Okay…" Angela's eyes jumped from Bella then Edward twice before returning to her own file, fingers tapping her thigh.

Bella closed her eyes, slowly pushing herself again, spinning slowly. _'God, what's got his panties in a twist? So what if I didn't tell him? It's not like I tell him _everything. _Well, there _was _that time I told him I was going to the police academy… I also told him that I was being promoted before anyone else.' _Bella sighed. _'Damn, do I really tell him everything?'_

"Bella?"

Her eyes snapped open, stopping her spinning abruptly at the voice. "Carlisle, hi. What brings you up here?"

"Just came to tell you I got the blood results. Our victim is Jessica Stanley."

Bella hastily flipped the file on her desk open, scribbling the name in. "Okay. Thanks, Carlisle. I'll do some digging."

He nodded, patting her shoulder. "I'll be gone for a few days so my assistant's going to be taking my place. Try not to bite his head off, okay?"

"Oh, uh, okay."

"I need you to do me a favor though."

"Sure, anything."

"I need you to tell Alice about Jessica. I'd do it myself but I've got to get going. I have a meeting to get to across town and I won't have the chance."

"What does Alice have to do with Jessica?"

"Jessica used to work with Alice, is all."

Bella's eyes widened, shaking her head slightly. "Um. Why can't Edward do it?"

"Well, I thought this was your case…"

"Oh. Well, I mean, Edward's my partner and-"

"Go on, just tell her, Bella," Edward muttered. "Not like you've never done it before anyway."

_'Yeah, well, I've never told it to anyone I found really attractive and wanted to date!' _Bella mentally groaned, finally agreeing. "Sure Carlisle, I'll do it."

"Great. Thank you, Bella. I'll see you in a few days." Carlisle slowly made his way out, Bella grabbing her phone from her desk and sliding it into her pocket.

"Thanks a lot, Edward." Bella made her way out, and into the elevator, more frustrated with Edward when her eyes caught a glimpse of him shrugging his shoulders on her way out. She stabbed at the number one, the elevator doors closing.

Once she reached the first floor, Bella quickly made her way out and to her car. Sliding in, she checked the time. 3:19. _'Should've just clocked out.' _Bella sighed, starting the drive to Alice's studio. Reaching over, she fumbled with the radio, throwing her hand up in defeat at a stoplight. "There's never anything to listen to these days," she mumbled. Glancing at the stoplight which was still red, she reached over and opened her glove compartment, grabbing a CD and popping it in.

Finally green, she pushed on the gas, one hand on the wheel and the other lingering on the radio, prepared to skip songs. The sound of gentle plucking of an acoustic guitar reached her ears, causing Bella to pull her hand away. "Oh my God, I've been looking for this CD everywhere!"

She began to tap her thumbs on the steering wheel, humming along. When Gathering Grounds came into view, Bella began to slow down, knowing the drive was almost over. _'Uhg, but the song is getting to the good part! Maybe I'll just… I'll pull over and finish the song? No one will really notice… right?' _She bit her lip as the strumming became stronger. _'Fuck it, I'm doing it.' _She slowly pulled over, parking her car a few feet from the entrance of Alice's studio.

Bella paused, listening to the lyrics, waiting. Finally, with a deep breath: "I remember we were driving, driving in your car, the speed so fast like I was drunk." Bella's head began to bob, eyes closed. "City lights lay out before us and your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder, and I had a feeling that I belonged. And I had a feeling I could be someone-"

A solid tapping on her window caused Bella to yelp, eyes flying open. Heart pounding, she looked to her right, Olivia standing there with brows raised. Embarrassed, Bella averted her eyes to her steering wheel, and took the key out of the ignition. With a deep breath, she pushed herself out of the car and looked at Olivia.

"Hi."

"Hi. Enjoyed yourself in there, stud?" Olivia grinned, head tilting slightly.

"Um, just a bit. Are you done for the day?"

She nodded. "That I am. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you aren't?"

Bella shook her head. "Couple more things to do, actually…"

"Okay. I'll talk to you later?"

Bella nodded, watching as Olivia headed toward the parking lot. Once she disappeared from sight, Bella turned to look at the studio. With a deep breath, she made her way inside, having no trouble in finding Alice.

"Hi, Bella," she chirped. She was leaning against the doorframe that led to her office.

"Alice." Bella smiled softly, the sight of Alice in a navy button up and white skirt causing heat to creep up her cheeks. With a small shake of her head, Bella tilted her head. "Do you mind if we talk?"

Straightening up, Alice nodded. "Sure. Come into my office."

Stepping back, Alice waited until Bella had made her way inside and into a chair before closing the door to her office. She plopped herself onto her own chair, propping her chin into her hands, her other hand finding a pencil. "So, what's up?"

"Alice…" Bella paused. "Um. You know how I had dinner with you and your family Friday night? How I had a file with me?" Once she received a nod, Bella bit her lip. "Well, we got the victim's blood results today and Carlisle had just told me earlier, telling me that it was Jessica Stanley who I didn't know but he asked me to tell you and I-" Bella grimaced. "I didn't really want to because who wants to tell someone that? And it sucked, because Edward and I got into this thing earlier today and he didn't wanna do it so then I had to do it which really sucks and I'm really sorry because no one likes hearing that and I promise you we'll find out who did it but I just can't imagine-"

"Bella."

"-because that's never happened to me before and I guess I don't know what else to say but I mean, what else could possibly be said aside from telling you what I should tell you, you know? But I don't understand why Carlisle had to ask me, of all people, who can be really bad at socializing with people instead of Edward because I'm sure he's better at this than I could ever be not to mention he's your brother and you'd probably feel more comfortable-"

"Bella!"

_'Sweet baby Jesus, I was rambling. For _so _long.' _Bella mentally kicked herself.

"Thank you, for telling me." Alice gave her a small smile, tapping her pencil on her desk. "I don't really know what to say but that. I don't know how to _feel _for that matter. I mean, I've worked with Jessica for some time now, but…" Alice shrugged. "We weren't close. Though I guess that makes me sound a bit heartless, don't you think?" She let out a strained laugh, closing her eyes immediately. "Sorry." Clearing her throat, she looked at Bella. "Thank you for telling me, again. Do you have any leads or anything?"

Bella shook her head. "Not too much."

With a sigh, Alice nodded. "Okay."

The two sat there for a few minutes, Bella waiting for Alice to say something.

"So, you know Olivia?"

"Oh," Bella's cheeks flushed, nodding quickly. "Yeah, I do. How do you know?"

"I saw you two talking before you came in." Alice shrugged. "She's nice. I didn't know you had more than just my family and I in your social circle." With a wink, Alice stood, opening her office door.

Bella gave her a sheepish smile, standing. "Well, when you go to a dog park, you meet people when your dog's following their dog all day."

They both walked to the front of the studio, Alice walking a little behind. Stopping at the door, Bella turned to look at Alice. It was odd. She found Olivia and Alice similar in so many ways but different too, especially in height. When it came to Olivia, Bella found herself looking up but when it came to Alice, she barely had to lower her head. All she really had to do was lower her eyes slightly, and she'd see Alice just fine. Shaking her head, she stuffed her hands into her pockets.

"What song were you listening to?"

"How'd you know I was?"

Alice chuckled. "It's kind of hard to miss someone bobbing their head with their eyes closed. I can only guess. So?"

"Oh, uh, Fast Car," Bella mumbled.

Alice grinned. "Fun song to sing to."

"It is." Bella nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "Well, it was nice seeing you. Hopefully, next time, it'll be under better circumstances?"

Alice nodded. "Better circumstances sounds great."

* * *

><p>Carlisle pulled into a parking space, glancing over at Emmett who sat in the passenger seat. "Remember what I said, Emmett."<p>

They both got out the car, Emmett tugging at the sleeve of his suit jacket. "Yeah, yeah, play nice. I got it."

Carlisle pulled the door open to Inganno's, making his way toward the maître d'. "Cullen."

The man nodded, turning abruptly. "Follow me. The rest of your party is already here."

Emmett and Carlisle followed, the crowd slowly thinning out the further they went into the restaurant. The maître d' paused at a table, allowing both Carlisle and Emmett to sit, before he placed menus on the table. With a curt nod, the man left.

Carlisle focused on the two people sitting on the opposite side of the table. "Billy. Jacob. I'm glad you could join us for a late dinner."

Jacob grunted, shifting in his seat. "Let's just get to the point of why we're here."

With a sigh, Carlisle leaned forward, eyes locking with Billy's. "Is that what you'd prefer? I thought we'd be able to have dinner before getting to it."

Clearing his throat, Billy nodded. "I'd rather you just get to the point as to why we're here."

Nodding, Carlisle pushed his menu aside. "Last week, we found a body of a girl. We did a full autopsy and we came across a scar on her lower back." Leaning back, Carlisle grimaced. "I don't want to sound like I'm pointing fingers but that scar was of a wolf, not-"

"So you think we killed her?" Jacob's eyes narrowed, gripping the napkin that was folded elegantly on the table. "Is that why we're here? So you can see if we killed her?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. If you please, there's still one more part. Friday night, I received a package on my door step. Opening it, I found that it was a carving of a wooden wolf. Although there are many possibilities of who sent it and who killed the girl, I usually associate wolves with you. The reason I'm here, though, is to ask you if you know anything about it."

With a huff, Jacob stood. "Bullshit. You're here to get us to confess to doing something we didn't do."

"Right now, it's very hard for me to believe that." Carlisle ran his hand through his hair, letting out another sigh. "Billy?"

The older man stood slowly, placing his hands on the back of his chair. "We aren't responsible for that girl's death, Carlisle. I appreciate you asking us and as disappointing as this sounds, we don't know anything about it either." With that, Billy turned, making his way out with a slight limp and Jacob following close behind.

"I don't believe them, Carlisle."

"I know you don't."  
>"Do you?"<p>

"I have to."

With a scoff, Emmett grabbed a menu and flipped it open. "You don't _have _to. You just choose to. You just _choose _to see the better side of people even if they aren't good people at all. Those two were just giving off the wrong vibe."

Grabbing a menu, Carlisle slowly went through it. "I suppose you're right. I do prefer seeing the better side of people, but I also like giving them the benefit of the doubt. We haven't had any problems with the Black family in years and there's no need to start anything now. If they said they didn't do it, they didn't do it. There's not much we can do, especially with the little to no evidence we _do _have. We can't just go off on a hunch, Emmett."

"Guess not," he murmured. "I think I'll get the pasta fagioli."

Carlisle rolled his eyes. "How is it that almost every conversation we have together ends with you talking about food?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Um, Merry Day After Christmas? Haha. Really sorry about taking longer than usual but this week's been hectic _**

**Anyway, I don't really know how I feel about this chapter but I hope you guys don't hate it ._.**

* * *

><p>Carlisle rapidly blinked his eyes, the harsh glow from his computer screen the only light source in the dark room. He glanced to the bottom right, realizing that it was just after three in the morning. His stomach grumbled, the pasta dish from Iganno's already digested.<p>

He leaned back in his chair, undoing the first few buttons of his button-up. A picture of Jessica Stanley was on his computer screen along with her school records, banking, credit cards, and police reports. Carlisle's search for her was a hard one until he realized that Jessica had changed her last name, taking her mother's maiden name. He blinked again, his eyes staying shut for a few seconds longer.

A light tap to the door of his study caused him to freeze, then quickly minimizing the screen. He cleared his throat. "Come in." Carlisle suddenly felt like those two mere words had stolen all the air from his lungs as he watched the door slowly open. "Esme."

His wife slowly reached for the light switch, the room suddenly filled with light. Carlisle's eyes slammed shut, letting out a deep breath. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust to the light. "Esme, why are you still awake?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

He frowned, turning his chair to face her. "Just doing some research."

Esme sighed, making her way to the edge of his desk. "Carlisle…" Esme bit her lip then perched herself onto the corner of his desk. She folded her hands neatly in her lap, her thumbs rubbing against each other. "Carlisle, I've been with you for most of my life. You helped me with so much and supported me with everything I wanted to do."

Carlisle gently wrested his hand onto her knee, the soft material of her flannel pajama bottoms causing him to rub slightly. "Of course I support you, why wouldn't I?"

"That's not… I'm just. I've known you for a long time. You're my best friend, my husband. I trust you with my life, with our family, with everything... but Carlisle? There are days where I just wonder about you. Where I wonder what you truly do when you disappear for a few days or why you bother asking for days off of work when you say you're doing research on a case." Esme grabbed his hand that rested on her knee, clasping both her hands around it and bringing it tightly to her chest, above her heart. "I trust you, Carlisle. The question is do you trust me?"

"Esme-"

"No. Just… think about it before you answer me, okay? Because I have this really strong feeling that you're hiding something. I love you Carlisle, and whatever it is, I hope you tell me at some point. When you're ready."

With a small kiss to the back of his hand, she slid of the edge of his desk. Leaning forward, she brushed a stray strand of hair from his forehead before placing a gentle kiss. "Goodnight." Esme made her way to the door, her fingers brushing the light switch, leaving Carlisle in complete darkness as before.

Carlisle turned his chair back around so he could stare at his computer screen, a frown on his face. _'Esme's right. Why would I bother hiding this from her? It's been part of my life for so long that I hardly remember my life when it wasn't. I trust her with everything but this.' _He glanced over to the small frame that rested on his desk which held a picture of their wedding day. _'I'll tell her. I'll tell her when this case is over and done with. It's bad enough that I'm keeping it from her but I've pulled Emmett into it as well. I'll have to talk to him about it.'_

Carlisle returned to the screen he was recently looking at of Jessica and bookmarked it. _'I'll look at this some more tomorrow. Maybe I'll find something.'_

* * *

><p>"I wanted to ask you something."<p>

Olivia paused, looking up from the Scrabble game that was laid out between them. "Like what?"

Bella shrugged, mindlessly rearranging her tiles. "Just… you know, about you. Who you were and what you used to do and stuff like that." Grabbing a few tiles, Bella leaned forward and placed them onto the board. _Show._

Glancing down at her tiles then back at the word, she grabbed some and put them in place. _Home._ "If you're going to ask me about something on my police record, don't bother."

Bella raised a brow. Olivia shrugged.

"What? If you wanted to know, you can look it up, right? Besides, you won't like what you see. I told you before that I'm not exactly the best person in the world."

"That wasn't what I meant…" Bella frowned. "I just wanna get to know _you, _in general. I didn't mean for it to sound like I wanted to know about things you've done that you aren't proud of." _Earth._

Olivia sighed, scratching the back of her neck. "I'm sorry. It's just that whenever people ask about what I did back home, I feel a little embarrassed. I get a little defensive sometimes." _Art._

"We can save it for another night if you want. This Scrabble game included."

"You can't figure out a word, can you?"

Bella blushed, slipping a hand over her face. "Maybe."

Olivia grinned, pushing herself up from her stomach into a sitting position. "We can pick this game up at another time then."

With a sigh of relief, Bella sat up. "Do you want me to take a picture of it?"

"What for?"

"So we can set it back up the same way next time."

Olivia rolled her eyes, waving her hand. "Leave it. I don't play Scrabble with anyone else. It won't hurt to just leave it the way it is."

Bella raised a brow. "You're just gonna leave it like this?"

"Yep." With a groan, Olivia stood. "Are you hungry? I think we still have pizza left from earlier."

"Nah, I'm good." Bella stood also, checking her watch. "I should get going. I wake up in about six hours."

"'kay. Want some pizza for breakfast?"

Bella chuckled, shaking her head. "Believe it or not, I usually skip breakfast."

Olivia made a soft 'tsk' sound, shaking her head. "That's bad for you, you know. You should eat in the morning. Maybe you wouldn't be such a grouch when people ask you things." She poked Bella's side softly, a smile in place.

Rolling her eyes, Bella grabbed her jacket that was carelessly thrown onto the couch earlier, and slipped it on. "It'll be part of my New Year's resolution."

"Bella, New Year's is months away."

She grinned. "Oh well."

"Get outta here." Olivia placed her hands on her hips, head tilted toward the door.

"Aye, aye." After a quick salute, a roll of her eyes one more time, she took hold of Olivia's wrist and tugged. "Well?"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you going to walk me to the door?"

Olivia snorted. "What, are you gonna get lost?"

"I might. Come on." With one more tug, they were headed towards the door. "Long day tomorrow?"

"Not really sure. I think I'm all done with damage control. I guess all that I really have to do is do whatever comes up."

"Do you like it there?"

"I do. It's kind of relaxing. It's not as chaotic as I thought it'd be."

Bella opened the door, turning to face Olivia. "I wouldn't think Alice is someone that waits last minute to finish a project. Pretty sure she's been working all year. Edward's mentioned she's been in a rut a few times but that was a few months back."

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, Alice works pretty hard. She comes in and stays in her office for a really long time, working on sketches. At the end of the week, she usually has a finished sketch or something."

"I would think so. Okay, well, I better get going." Bella placed a quick kiss to Olivia's cheek. "Oh, also, if you aren't busy tomorrow night, let's go out. As much as I loved our exciting round of Scrabble, it'd be a nice change of scenery."

Olivia grinned. "You're a bit on the chaste side, aren't you? But sure, okay, we can go out."

"Chaste?"

"Usually for me, after a bit of a week, I'm already past kisses on the cheek."

Bella blushed for the second time that night, shaking her head and taking a step back. Hitching her thumb over her shoulder, Bella cleared her throat. "I'm gonna get going. Night."

Olivia stood, watching Bella head down the front steps and toward her car. After Bella slid into her car, Olivia closed her door. She headed toward her bedroom, grabbed her towel, and went into the bathroom.

After going through her usual routine which mainly consisted of a shower, moisturizing, and dealing with her OCD and brushing her teeth, she found herself staring at the Scrabble game that was spread out on the floor. Curious, she peeked at Bella's tiles, laughing afterwards. _'She lied. She could've easily made a word.' _

"And just what's so funny?"

With a startled yelp, Olivia whirled around. Her eyes found the tall, muscled figure of Jacob Black who was sitting on the couch.

"What're you _doing _here? Do you know what time it is?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He made his way toward the Scrabble game and scoffed. "This is what you were busy with tonight?"

Olivia raised her chin, eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I had company."

"I know you had company but for fuck's sake, 'liv, you couldn't save it for _tomorrow?_ We had to send Seth and he's not as convincing as you are."

With a huff, Olivia made her way into the kitchen. "I told you to move the meeting."

Following, Jacob merely growled. "You don't make the rules, Olivia."

She tugged open the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, slamming it shut. "Last time I checked, neither did you."

"I just enforce them, Olivia. My dad's not as young as he used to be and you know that. You're lucky he even helped you out."

"You know what? That's none of your business nor do you have any right to bring that up. What your dad did for me is between me and him, not you. So butt out. I don't care if you're enforcing your daddy's rules but you don't come here and bring up what he's done for me. You didn't know my situation and you didn't know how desperate I was."

Raising his hands, palms up, he shrugged. "Well then, don't make me bring it up."

"Excuse me? I didn't _make _you. You have the audacity to even mention it."

Waving his hand, Jacob sighed. "Look, this argument isn't why I'm here."

"Could've fooled me." Olivia took a swig of water before placing the water bottle onto the kitchen counter. "What're you here for, then? Another business deal? Is that it? I told you and your dad that I can't do it all the time."

"Well this isn't all the time. Tonight at the old warehouse block in La Push. Seth fucked up so we have to go and fix it." He then reached into his jacket, dropping a plastic bag onto her counter top. "Show the goods, close the deal."

Sighing, Olivia turned her back toward Jacob, head resting against the wall. "Let me just go change then," she murmured, mentally scolding herself.

* * *

><p>Alice pouted, arms crossed. "Jazz, do you <em>really <em>have to go out tonight?" Her eyes followed him as he walked out from the bathroom and toward the closet, rummaging for some clothes to wear.

"I already said yes weeks ago, sweetie. I can't just back out now. If I do, there's gonna be an uneven number." Tugging on a black V-neck and jeans, he turned to look at Alice. "I promise we'll do something tomorrow, if you'd like."

"I can't. I go back into work tomorrow."

"So don't go. Call in. You're the boss, aren't you?"

"It's not that easy! I can't just call in and take a day off just because. I had all day today off and you've been gone all day. Now you're going out again tonight?"

Jasper sighed, pulling Alice close, arms wrapped around her waist. "Look, I know I've been gone all day and I know we need to spend time together. How about the next time you get the day off, you tell me ahead of time, hm? That way I won't make any plans and we can do something together. Just us, okay?"

Alice's face which was buried into the crook of his neck merely nodded. "Okay. Have fun then."

With a kiss to the top of her head, Jasper sat onto their bed and began to put his shoes on. "I'll try not to come home too late. If you're still awake, maybe we can watch a movie together tonight?"

"Sure." Alice smiled softly, dropping herself onto their bed. She felt the bed shift and heard Jasper leave the room. Rolling onto her stomach, she sighed. "Is this how married life with him will be like?" she muttered. "I know I've been busy lately but still… I thought he'd _want _to spend time with me when I finally have the time." Rolling toward the edge of the bed, she sat up and let her feet dangle.

Glancing around the room, she noticed just how little of Jasper's belongings were seen. All Alice could see was his dirty hamper in the corner, a CD or two at the computer, his towel that hung on a rack, and his sunglasses that were on the bedside table. _'It feels more like my room lately. Where are all his things? I used to feel like this room used to be absolutely cluttered and now I feel like he's hardly got anything here except for a change of clothes and a few other things compared to everything I have here. He doesn't even have any of his own pictures in here.'_

Shaking it off, she made her way downstairs, counting every picture she saw that had Jasper in it. _'Six. Six pictures and we've been together for almost four years. How is that even possible? I'm even in more pictures and I'm hardly home…'_

She found Esme in the living room, sprawled out on the couch, working on a crossword. She plopped herself down onto the loveseat, closing her eyes for a bit.

"Mom?"

Glancing from her crossword, Esme raised a brow. "Yes, Alice?"

"Mom, what do you think of Jasper?"

Furrowing her brows, Esme sat up and placed the crossword onto the coffee table. "What do I think of Jasper?"

Alice nodded. "You know, do you like him? Do you think that my relationship with him is a good one?"

"Oh, uh, well I do like Jasper as a person. He's a nice guy. Smart, respectful…"

"And our relationship?"

Esme hesitated, shaking her head. "I don't know. I really think you love him, Alice, I do but I'm watching you two and it seems with every passing year, it's not the same relationship it used to be. The two of you used to be sickeningly sweet."

Alice smiled softly, fingers picking at her shirt. "I know what you mean. I just… do you think that I should still marry him? I mean, with the way things are right now."

"That's not for me to answer, sweetie."

"But–"

Shaking her head, Esme stood and gently patted Alice's shoulder. "I can't tell you whether you should marry him or not. That's your decision Alice. You two love each other and although you may question whether he's the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, it's you that has to decide. I can give you all the reasons you should and shouldn't marry him but in the end, it's up to you." Feeling a nod, Esme smiled. "How about some hot chocolate?"

"With whipped cream?"

"I'll even let you do it yourself."

Alice shot off the loveseat and into the kitchen, a grin in place.

* * *

><p>Olivia shivered; her thin jacket no match for the cold outside. She was leaning against her car, Jacob sitting cozily inside with the heater turned all the way up. The sound of approaching footsteps caused her to look up, anxious to get everything done and over with. She tapped the hood of her car, angling her head. Jacob rolled his eyes, turned off the heater, and stepped out and around to stand beside her.<p>

"Who am I meeting with, Jake?" she murmured.

"You'd be surprised."

"Jake." The smooth voice caused the both of them to look up, Olivia's eyes widening.

Jacob clasped the pale hand that was offered to him, shaking it. "Mike." He looked over at Olivia, nudging her. "This is Olivia. She'll hammer out the details with you."

Clearing her throat, Olivia let out a low sigh. "Let's just get to the point, okay?"

"An ounce of cocaine and a pound of marijuana for a grand each sound okay to you?" Her eyes focused on the wall behind him, counting how many bricks were in each row.

"What about meth?"

"Another grand for an ounce."

"How's the quality?"

Narrowing her eyes, she finally looked at him. His unruly hair, the way his pupils were dilated behind his glasses made her edgy. "I wouldn't be offering bad quality to anyone. Ever."

Mike glanced over at Jacob, who firmly nodded. "Okay, it's a deal." He reached into his jacket, handing over a three clips of money.

With a sigh of relief, Olivia went to her backseat and grabbed three plastic bags. She took the offered money and handed over the bags.

"A pleasure, as always." Mike grinned, making his way to his car parked a few feet back.

Without bothering to see if he got to his car, Olivia jumped into her car and started the engine. There was a distinct click, causing Jacob's eyes snap to her. Making his way to the passenger side, he pulled at the door handle.

"You locked the door?"

Rolling down the window just a crack so he could hear her, she shrugged. "I did my part. I never said I was giving you a ride home."

"What the hell? Open the door, 'liv!"

"One, find your own ride. Start walking if you have to. Two, stop calling me 'liv. I've hated that nickname since I was a kid." With that, she rolled her window back up.


	9. Chapter 9

**Again, really sorry. I just had no idea how I wanted this chapter to go...**

**lynettecullen: You really know how to make my day, don't you? (x**

* * *

><p>Turning the doorknob to the studio a few times to make sure it was locked, Olivia shuddered from the cold. Her thin cardigan was no match for the cool night along with the occasional gust of wind, and as she made her way down the street to her car, she regretted not grabbing a thicker jacket and leaving it in her car. <em>'Jesus, I never had so many things to do in one day before. I've called so many places, got put on hold for so long that it felt like I wasn't even on the phone anymore. I can see why Jessica would've left <em>this _job after so long.' _

Reaching into her purse, she searched through it to find her keys, standing beneath the streetlight. A soft 'a-_ha_' and she was in her car. Once she had started the car, her fingers immediately reached to turn on the heater. Olivia sat there in her car, soaking up the heat, her body warming up. _'After December 3__rd, __I'm hoping things will slow down for me. It'll definitely give me enough time to go Christmas shopping.' _Olivia snorted, eyes rolling. _'Christmas shopping? Who am I buying gifts for, Juliet?' _She bit her lip, trying to prevent the smile that was slowly trying to take over. _'Oh for crying out loud, I can't even deny it.'_

Shaking her head, she made her way home. _'Okay, we haven't even talked about whether we were getting each other something for Christmas. Uhg, thinking about this is just going to drive me nuts… uh, let's see. I wonder if I got everything done today.' _Her brows furrowed, trying to remember the long list of requests Alice had left to her earlier that day. _'For someone who designs clothes, she has a lot of things to do… okay; I finished making all the calls and confirmed everything. I also got the okay on the venue, along with booking the few models she _did _want. So does that mean I get to pick the rest or do I just call an agency and ask…?' _

Turning onto her street, Olivia let out a sigh of relief. The moment she reached her driveway, she got out of her car, shivering after being so warm. She gathered her bag and her duffle bag that held an extra change of clothes, shutting the door with her hip. Making her way to her front door, she rummaged through her bag for the separate key ring that held her house keys along with the keys to her parent's house in Utah. She felt the uneven edges, pulling the keys out.

The moment her door was unlocked, she did a small victory dance which was really just the shake of her hips. It was soon over when she felt the strong grip on upper arm. Her first thought was that it was Jacob, trying to scare her for leaving him behind the other night but the sickly sweet smell of chloroform reached her nose.

The cloth that was now pressed over her mouth and nose was pushed so tightly against her face that she had trouble breathing, causing her lungs to burn. Olivia's eyes grew heavy, whether it was from the lack of oxygen or the chloroform. She dropped her duffle bag and her hand reached up to grab at the arm that held the cloth, trying to dig her nails into their skin. Her plan was no good though, as she felt the sleeves of a thick sweater and realizing her vision was getting hazy.

The pressure on her face was gone though, as the cloth just hovered above her face. She sucked in as much air as her lungs would take but her eyes had begun to already close. She blinked but her eyes felt like they were weighed down by sandbags. Letting out a small groan, she leaned back, eyes shut.

She felt herself being lifted into stiff arms, knowing that whoever was carrying her wasn't heading into her house but in the opposite direction. She was placed onto a cold surface, the sound of a door slamming after. Her attempt at staying awake was failing, and each blink of her eyes became slower and slower until each blink was like shutting her eyes for a nap and waking from a bad dream.

It felt like hours when it was probably only a few minutes until she felt herself being lifted again. She could hear the rush of water and the fear that she thought she would feel at the sound seemed to never show up. Realizing that she was being taken away from the water, she felt her body sag further into the arms that carried her.

The sound of footsteps began to echo as it finally hit her that she was inside somewhere. It smelled like old wood, cigar smoke, and new leather.

"Here." The rough voice of whoever was carrying her was muffled, whether he had something over his mouth or she just wasn't focused.

She felt herself being put down onto a thin blanket, the cold from the floor seeping through the fabric. She curled into a tight ball, hoping that whatever reason she was there for, it'd be for something stupid. Maybe she messed up an order and they wanted her to fix it. She could definitely do that. Heck, she'd throw in a free ounce of their choice if that was what they wanted.

"You idiot," hissed a lower a voice. It sounded tired, angry, and old. "That's not her."

"What're you _talking _about? It's her."

There was a frustrated sigh, some rustling, then footsteps that were walking toward her. She felt the small push of air as someone squatted before her, their fingers tilting her chin up and away from her body, pushing the hair that fell in her face away.

"They look alike but this _isn't _her. This one, she's taller, a good couple inches. Here, look at this," and she suddenly felt fingers at the corner of her mouth, pushing up into a failed smile. "Alice doesn't have dimples."

Olivia's brows furrowed. _'Alice?'_

"This is why I didn't want you to do this one, Seth."

"Well how would I know? You said to follow her from work, that Alice would be the last to leave! I did everything you told me to do. I waited for her to finish work, I followed her home, everything!"

Whoever it was that was squatting before her was now gone. "I should've just sent people I knew wouldn't mess up for this one. You messed this one up bad, Seth," he said slowly. There was suddenly coughing from the same person, the harsh sound bouncing off the walls. Olivia cringed at the wheezing that came afterward. "You messed this up. Fix it."

* * *

><p>After cautiously going through every room of Olivia's house, Bella found herself at the front door. Hands on her hips, she gazed out toward the street. She tried to imagine just what Olivia had done the moment she got home, starting at her car. Her eyes trailed over to the duffle bag that was on the ground, including Olivia's purse. The thought of calling and reporting Olivia missing bothered her to no end. It would just solidify the fact that she wasn't here even though they had already planned to do something tonight.<p>

Letting out a deep breath, she sat down on the cold cement, hands stuffed into her pockets. _'What am I waiting for? To get a call for a dead body?' _She frowned, pushing her knees up to lean her forehead against them. _'No, that's not it. Something's just not right.'_

Closing her eyes, Bella began to slow down her breathing. The thought of going to the police station at this hour seemed pointless to her. She was a detective. She could find Olivia just like anyone else, if not better.

It could've been seconds, minutes; maybe hours until the sound of slow footsteps reached Bella's ears, causing her to look up. She blinked multiple times, disgruntled and frustrated with herself that she had even drifted off to sleep. Standing, Bella stretched, eyes following the tall form that was making its way toward her. Her eyes zeroed in on the body that was being carried, her brows scrunching in confusion.

Making her way toward the approaching figure, her eyebrows raised as she got a better glimpse of who was being carried. They stood facing each other, Bella's eyes more focused on Olivia, checking for anything out of place. With a sigh, she raised her eyes.

"Here." He extended his arms, offering Olivia. His face was in a small grimace, the frustration evident on his face.

Hesitating slightly, Bella reached her arms out. She felt Olivia's body drop into her arms, causing a small grunt to come from her lips. "So what happened?"

He shrugged. "Fainted, is all. She'll be fine."

Shifting Olivia in her arms, Bella let out a small huff. "How long has she been out?"

With that, he looked down, hand scratching at the back of his head. "Uh, awhile now, I think. I'm not sure."

"And you haven't done anything to help. Or checked if she's okay?" Bella glared at the bent head. "You're her friend, aren't you? Taking care of her and bringing her home? Unless you're the reason she fainted in the first place."

"We know each other."

"Before or after tonight?"

"That isn't really any of your business."

"It is when it comes to her."

Bella's patience was wearing thin as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "So who are you?"

"Don't worry about it."

She scoffed. "Are we really going to have this conversation?"

"We don't have to." With a grin, he turned around and began to make his way back.

"You know I'll find out, right?"

He snorted, turning around. He began to walk backwards, raising his hands, palms up. "There's a fifty-fifty chance you will. I'd like to think that you won't." He turned back around, quickly crossing the street.

Clenching her teeth, Bella spun on her heel as good as anyone could with someone in their arms. She shifted Olivia in her arms, going from bridal to over her shoulder. Opening the door, Bella checked for Juliet, who was still asleep under coffee table. She kicked the door shut, laying Olivia down onto her couch, propping her feet on the armrest. With a breath of relief, Bella stretched her back and rolled her shoulders.

Heading into the kitchen, she tugged the refrigerator open and grabbed a water bottle. Making her way back to the couch, she lifted Olivia's hand, checking her pulse at her wrist. Furrowing her brows, Bella sat down on the floor in front of the couch. _'He said she fainted but… how long has it _been? _I mean, I know when someone faints, it shouldn't take _too _long. Should I call the hospital?' _She bit her lip, ripping the label on her water bottle.

Bella felt a small nudge at her thigh, tearing her eyes from the growing pile of ripped up label pieces. She ran her hand over Juliet's head, scratching top of her head.

"Your momma's sleeping, okay? Just give her a bit."

The beagle's two front paws rested on her thigh, her head angled up toward Bella's face, head tilted.

"Don't look at me like you don't understand me. Are you hungry?" Juliet merely placed her head on her paws, closing her eyes once again. "I guess not."

Bella ran her hands along her back, the fur soft but short, unlike Bernie's.

"I leave her a bowl of food before I leave for work every day." The scratchy voice caused Bella to jump slightly, turning her head to look at Olivia's face.

"Were you faking being knocked out just so I could carry you earlier or did you honestly _just _wake up?"

Slowly sitting up, Olivia crossed her legs beneath her, grinning. "A little bit of both."

Swatting at Olivia's knee, Bella rolled her eyes. "Figures. So, who was that?"

"Who was who?"

"You're kidding, right? The guy that was carrying you."

"Oh."

"Oh?" Bella shifted Juliet into her lap, turning around to face Olivia. "What, should I know something about him?"

Olivia shook her head. "No, not really."

"Okay… so, what's his name?"

"Seth? I think."

"You think."

"That's what I said, wasn't it?"

Bella rubbed her temples, eyes shut. "So, you _think _his name is Seth. This guy that you apparently don't really know carried you home. How does he even know where you live in the first place? Is there something you wanna tell me?"

"Quit it, nothing was gonna happen." Olivia rolled her eyes, leaning back. "You're jumping to conclusions."

"I'm not jumping to _conclusions, _I'm just thinking up of possible scenarios. It's what I do."

"Yeah, well stop. Just let me finish telling you everything."

Bella flushed, nodding. "Right, sorry. Go ahead."

"I was coming home from work, right? I still had a few things I wanted to get over with so Alice left me the keys to lock up. So I did. Got out of my car and was making my way to my door then looked through my bag for my keys. Then I felt someone grab me, right? And at first, I just thought it was a friend of mine because he always seems to pop out of nowhere but before I knew it, he was covering my face with a cloth. I kinda blacked out after that but I could hear what was happening." Olivia pushed her hand through her hair, rubbing the back of her neck after. "That's why I said that I think his name is Seth." She shrugged, then snapped her fingers. "Oh! You should keep an eye on Alice."

"What? I thought you were telling me what happened, not what you want me to do."

"That's the thing. While I was there, they were talking about how I _wasn't _Alice. I mean, I know we look alike and stuff but I'm way taller. Not to mention my hair's a little lighter than hers."

"This Seth guy _kidnapped _you?"

"Yeah… but he wanted Alice, which is why I'm telling you that you need to keep an eye on her_. _I like my job, you know. It'd be nice if I got to keep it."

Bella nodded slowly, letting out a deep breath. "Okay. When I go in tomorrow, I'll look up this Seth guy, and I'll let Edward know about Alice."

* * *

><p>Bella sat across from Seth, who was leaning back in his chair, the front feet of the chair off the ground.<p>

"We never got to finish our conversation, Seth."

"Look, nothing happened, okay? Is that what you're worried about? That your _boo _and I had a little fun or something?"

"No, nothing like that. You know, she told me some interesting things last night." Bella leaned back, eyes trained on Seth.

"Oh yeah? Was it dirty?" He barked out a laugh at Bella's discomfort. "You're kidding."

"What?" Bella raised a brow.

"You guys haven't done it yet. What're you waiting for, _marriage_? Trust me, detective, that shit doesn't seem like it'd work out in your future with _this _kind of job."

"That's not what we're here for," Bella stated. "Look, you wanna know why you're here? Because we had someone say you're going after for someone, not to mention we got a dead body from just a few weeks ago. I gotta say, you're climbing the ladder for number one suspect. Did you kill Jessica Stanley?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that, right? Can I also take a wild guess that your source is Olivia?" Seth grinned. "Alright, well, I'm running a little late so let's make a deal. I tell you something about Jessica Stanley's murder and you let me off easy?" Seth offered, his chin resting in his palm.

"You just said that you didn't know anything-"

"No, no, detective. I said that I didn't _kill _her. I never said I didn't _know _anything about it."

"Oh for fuck's sake," she muttered. "Okay but I swear, if something happens to Alice, I'm coming after you, got it?"

Seth nodded, his fingers making a small 'x' over his chest. "Cross my heart, detective."

"Go ahead, Seth." Bella crossed her legs, hands resting in her lap.

"Jessica Stanley worked for Alice, right? You found her body and everything but the problem is that she was in water. Her body expanded twice its normal size and she could pop at any fuckin' second," Seth snapped his fingers, "just like that. It's stopping you, isn't it? From getting the evidence you want? I also heard your medical examiner's takin' a few days off and you don't want any of his assistants to work this case. So that's clearly slowing you down in the evidence department but my dear, dear detective, what's the point of gathering evidence when I can just _tell _you who killed Jessica Stanley?"

"Don't joke around, Seth," Bella growled. "If what you're telling me is a lie, your ass is mine."

Seth chuckled. "I promise you, what I'm telling you is nothing but the truth. I admit that I do shady things and I don't hang out with the right crowd and maybe I'm a little stupid, but that doesn't mean I don't know who does what and what goes down." Seth's gaze focused on Bella, who sat perfectly still. "Jessica Stanley was killed by a pair. Not one person, two. One who does the dirty work and the other to clean up the tracks left behind. And you know what? Jasper Whitlock is one damn good murderer, but not as good as Edward Cullen who can cover anything up."

"What makes you think I'll believe that, Seth? I work with Edward and I've known him since the police academy. I also know Jasper, who seems to be a nice guy." Bella leaned forward, her hands on the table. "I don't like being lied to, Seth. I know you're smart enough to know that if I find out that you did lie, things aren't gonna work in your favor."

"You've seen those cop shows, haven't you, detective? When it's a good murder and it's got you on the edge of your seat? Then suddenly, when they reveal the killer, you shit bricks because it's always someone you never expect." Seth smirked, leaning back in his chair, propping his feet on the table.

Bella smacked at his feet, glaring. "Get your feet off the table. This is an interrogation room, not some place you can kick back and light up."

With a small chuckle, Seth dropped his feet to the ground. "Well? A deal's a deal, detective."

"Yeah, well I'm not buying what you're selling."

"What, you don't think I'm being honest?"

"Edward's my _partner. _You're gonna have to do a lot better than just telling me that Edward was part of Jessica Stanley's murder. It's his word against yours, and it's not looking good for you."

"His word? He's not even _here._"

Bella shrugged. "Oh well."

"Look, you can choose to believe me or you can choose not to, that's completely up to you. I know what I'm telling you is the truth and we had a deal."

"I'm not in the mood for a goose chase, Seth, so just spill out whatever it was you were really gonna say."

"I told you, I'm _not _lying. Your boy was part of the murder. You wanna know why you can't figure out this damn murder? Because he's playing you all like a bunch of puppets. He can cover up his tracks damn good and I'm pretty sure him and Jasper were smart enough so that none of their DNA can be found. You're wasting your time on me when you should be going after them."

Clenching her jaw, Bella abruptly stood. "I don't like when people accuse my partner for something that isn't true."

"Oh for crying out loud! You're in fuckin' denial! But you know what? You go on ahead and do what you want but when you finally figure out it was them, send me a fuckin' fruit basket." Seth stood also, making his way out.

Bella cringed as the door slammed, dropping herself back into her chair. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples. _'If I keep rubbing my temples, I'm going to have permanent imprints of my freakin' fingers there or something sooner or later.'_

Dropping her hands into her lap, she leaned back, keeping her eyes closed. _'What if Seth was telling the truth? That Edward and Jasper really were the ones involved with the Jessica Stanley case? I don't think I'd be able to handle that… but how does Seth even _know _Edward? Well, it won't hurt to ask, right?' _Bella groaned. _'Of course it would, it'd be coming out of nowhere for me to ask him. How could I possibly even find out if it's the truth? If Edward really did do it, he'd never admit to it… I already know Edward and who he is and what kind of person but not Jasper. I'll do checks on him today, when Edward leaves.'_

Eyes open, Bella blew out a breath. _'So much for weeding out suspects.' _She stood up and slowly made her way out of the interrogation room.


	10. Chapter 10

**I kind of lost my inspiration for writing but I'm glad I got this finished. ._.**

* * *

><p>She tapped her fingers on her steering wheel, eyes taking in the neighborhood she was parked in. Letting out a sigh, she glanced to the right, eyes searching for the second window to the right. The shadow moved quickly about the house until the light from the apartment was suddenly off. Bella's fingers began to tap faster, causing Olivia to look up from her phone.<p>

"Bella, quit it. She's coming. Why are you so impatient anyway? You didn't even wanna go out tonight."

With a huff, Bella gently gripped the steering wheel instead. "I've got this crazy idea that the sooner we get there, the sooner the night's over."

Olivia grinned. "Just for that, I might just try and stay out as late as possible." She gently tapped Bella's nose before leaning back.

Bella's hand shot up and gently rubbed her nose, a small scowl on her face. "Will you quit that? You make me feel like a kid when you do that."

"Do what?" Olivia smiled innocently.

"The, you know…" Bella leaned over, tapping Olivia's nose a little harder.

Bella pulled her hand away at the sound of the back door opening. The person shuffled into the car, slamming the door behind them.

"Can't keep your hands to yourself for long, can you, Bella?"

"What was that, Angela? You'd rather walk to the bar?"

Angela rolled her eyes, dropping a CD into Bella's lap. "Put it in, I got some new songs."

"I'm sorry, who's driving?" A scowl in place, Bella slid the CD in anyway. "Do you have everything? Keys? Money? I'm not coming back."

"Yes, now go." Angela leaned further back into her seat, the sound of a clicking seatbelt the last thing heard before Bella started the car.

The drive went on in silence for less than a mile, until Bella abruptly lowered the volume. "What in the world are we _listening _to?"

Angela grinned. "K-pop."

Olivia chuckled, reaching over to turn the volume back up. "I do like to listen to k-pop to start off my night."

Coming to a stop at a stoplight, Bella turned to face Olivia, brow raised. "_You _listen to k-pop?"

"You'd know if you asked me what kind of music I listened to. Green, by the way."

"What?"

"The light? It's green."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Bella tightly gripped the steering wheel and pushed down on the gas. "Okay, got any more surprises, 'liv?"

"No, but I _love _this song."

"I think you've got a keeper, Bella." Angela leaned forward and patted Olivia's shoulder. "Anyone who likes what I like is A-okay in my book."

"Maybe you guys should just date each other," mumbled Bella.

Angela snorted. "If it happens by the end of the night, you can't hold it against me."

Olivia rolled her eyes and turned up the volume. "Less talking, more listening."

* * *

><p>"This is not happening," murmured Bella, trying to hide behind Angela and Olivia as they made their way through the nightclub. The dim lighting and large crowd did little to ease the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach, eyes glued to the three figures at the bar. "It's not them. I mean, what are the chances that they'd be here at the <em>same <em>club on the _same _night at the _same _time? It's just the lighting."

Bella continued to walk closely behind Olivia as they made their way to a table on the other side, a dance floor between the three figures at the bar.

The moment an empty table came into view, Bella sighed in relief. She rested her hands on Olivia's shoulders, pushing gently so she'd walk faster.

Olivia rested her hands over Bella's, giving them a small squeeze. "Bella, quit it. If someone gets the table, they get it. If there aren't anymore, we can just sit at the bar."

"Uh, no. We're getting that table. I don't really like sitting at the bar."

Angela snorted. "You don't like sitting at the bar because you hate when random people try to strike up a conversation with you."

With a triumphant yet quiet "a-ha" from Bella, she plopped herself down onto an empty chair at the table. "And that's exactly why we're sitting at a table, Angela."

As the three settled at their table, Bella's shoulders began to loosen.

* * *

><p>"Gimme another round of shots, will ya? One for my lady friend, too." Edward grinned, slinging his arm clumsily over Angela's shoulders. "So, how'd you get Bella to come out tonight?"<p>

Angela held her breath as Edward's alcohol induced breath rushed against her face. Letting out a deep breath, she angled her head, looking at Bella who sat at their table with Jasper.

"Don't ask me. Olivia's the one that got her to."

Glancing toward the bar, she nudged Edward a little. Spotting the two shots, he grinned. "You're taking one with me, aren't you?"

She smiled slightly. "I'll take as many shots as long as it's on your tab."

"Excellent." He leaned over the table of the bar, signaling the bartender. "Keep the shots coming, will you?" Edward turned back to face Angela, noticing that her shot glass was still full. "What're you waiting for? Drink up!"

Lifting the glass, she smiled. "Bottoms up."

Edward held onto his shot glass, watching as Angela threw her head back slightly, draining the small cup. He smiled, noticing the grimace on her face as the alcohol burned a path down her throat. Before he knew it, she was staring back at him, brow raised.

With a shrug, he downed the drink. He set down his shot glass, and then pulled Angela closer. "Okay, be honest."

Once again, his breath fanned against her face, the smell of hard liquor lingering between them. She cringed. "With what?"

"Think I got a shot with Olivia?"

Angela let out a bark of a laugh, shaking her head. Her eyes skimmed the nightclub, finally finding Alice and Olivia at the edge of the dance floor. "Not a chance."

He shrugged, turning back to grab two more shots that seemed to have magically appeared. "Guess I'll take your word for it. Why isn't Bella dancing with her?"

"Bella doesn't dance and you know it." She angled her head slightly. "They don't look like they're having very much fun."

"Who?"

"Alice and Olivia. I know they're dancing but they look so uncomfortable."

Edward shrugged. "Neither of them are gonna start grinding on each other, if that's what you're implying."

Shaking her head, Angela turned to stand in front of Edward. She took hold of a shot glass, and lifted it slightly. "Forget it. Let's just focus on one thing."

"I thought we were focusing on them."

"We were, but now? We're focusing on me, trying to take more shots than you. If I do, you take my weekend shift and buy me lunch."

Edward chuckled, lifting his glass also. "You're on."

* * *

><p>Alice pushed her hand through her hair as she waited for Olivia to finish washing her hands. They'd finished dancing before Alice could pluck up enough courage to ask her how her relationship with Bella was. She felt ridiculous and frustrated at herself for not being able to ask Bella herself.<p>

"Ready?"

Her eyes snapped toward Olivia, who was waiting by the door. "Yeah, let's go."

As they made their way through the crowd, Alice kept glancing toward Olivia. _'This is my chance. If I don't ask now, I'll never get to.' _She turned her head, letting out a slow sigh. "Olivia?"

"Yeah?"

"How're you and Bella doing?"

Olivia smiled softly. "Good. Or at least, I think we are."

"That's good."

"How're you and Jasper?"

Alice paused. How _were _her and Jasper? Would they be considered a couple deeply in love, so in love that they were waiting for the perfect time to have their wedding? Or were they putting off this wedding because neither of them were absolutely sure if they still wanted to be together for the rest of their lives?

"Alice?"

She gave a small shrug, her eyes trained to the ground. "I don't know, to be honest. We're okay, I guess. We used to want to be with each other whenever we had the chance but now, it's really hard for us to even be together."

"Do you want me to get Bella to leave Jasper alone so you two can be together?"

"No, it's okay."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Did she? Talking to Olivia about her concerns with Jasper would only mean she was finally admitting to herself that there really was something wrong. Aside from that, Alice never got into personal details of her life with the people she worked with, finding it easier to be their boss and preventing people from stepping all over her. Would she regret telling Olivia about it? The deadline to reveal her new line was drawing closer and by the time it's all over, would she still need Olivia around? If she didn't, then talking about it with her didn't seem like such a big deal. But it still felt like it was. Is it because there was a possibility she'd talk to Bella about it? It shouldn't matter if Bella knew but part of her felt a bit embarrassed that something was even wrong with her relationship.

She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder, causing her to look up at Olivia.

"Um, sure, okay. Somewhere far from them, though. Edward, too. I think he's still at the bar with Angela."

Olivia gently looped her arm with Alice's, steering her towards the stage. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, you know. We can talk about other things like… um, fabrics and patterns?" Olivia cringed at the thought.

Alice chuckled. "Just because I design clothes doesn't mean it's all I talk about. If that were the case, people would talk to you about how you answer phones and organize your desk."

"Touché."

They stood at the side of the stage, away from the dance floor. From where they stood, they were able to see Edward and Angela down by the bar, still taking shots together and swaying slightly, whether it was from the music or because they were unable to just stand still. On the other side of the room were Bella and Jasper, who sat together. Jasper was looking at the dance floor, occasionally sipping his beer and Bella had her eyes focused on him.

"So, do you _want _to talk about it?"

Alice shrugged. "Yes and no. Talking about it would only mean that there really is something wrong between us though, wouldn't it? I'd hate to admit it after being with him for so long."

Olivia smiled softly. "Just because you were with him for a really long time doesn't mean that you two are meant to be with each other forever. It's like when you're in high school and you have the same friends for all four years. Even though you've been with them for so long, how many are you really still going to be friends with after?"

"Don't have too many friends, do you?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "That's not the point I'm trying to make here."

"I know. I just don't know what to do or how to fix it. I want to talk to him about it but I just don't know how I'd even bring it up. For all I know, he probably thinks we're perfectly fine just the way we are now."

"That's why you should talk to him. Maybe there's nothing to fix at all."

"Do you mean that in a good way or a bad way?"

"Which part?"

"The 'nothing to fix' part."

"It can be taken either way, I think."

"But what do _you _mean?"

"Both. As in, maybe it's good that there's nothing to fix. You could be right, he might think that you two are perfectly fine and nothing's wrong at all and that whatever problems you think you two have are just in your mind. It could be from the fact that you two are engaged, that you're getting cold feet because your subconscious realizes that you're tying yourself to one person now for the rest of your life. I could also mean it in a bad way though. That since there's nothing to fix, there's no way to save your relationship. Almost like that chapter of your life is over and Jasper's one of those people who come into your life for a certain amount of time and leave so that you can grow more. I don't know, you can take it however you want but you should still talk to him either way and find out what's going on in that brain of his."

"I guess so… I wish I could honestly say that if there was nothing to fix, it's because there really is nothing wrong with our relationship. I want us to work out so badly but I can't believe it. I just feel like there's something that's changed between us and I don't know what or how. I just know that once my schedule started filling up and we started spending less time with each other, we just became different people. He found new people to spend time with, which is understandable. I want him to have friends and I want him to be able to go out and do things instead of sitting around at home, bored out of his mind. The thing is, now that I'm free, it's like he doesn't want to be with me at all. I mean, I know he's probably already had plans but it's like he can't break them just this once to be with me when I finally have a day off. I know I'm my own boss but procrastination is hard to shake off once I start."

"It sounds like you expected him to wait for you."

"We're engaged. Isn't he supposed to just take things in stride when he agreed to marry me? I don't think he expects me to just quit my job after we get married."

"Yeah, but how long can a person wait? You can't expect him to be okay, knowing that he comes second in your life. I know your work is important and he's important too but you've got to pick one to spend the rest of your life completely committed to. Thing is, I think he's already decided that for you with the way you describe how he's acting. Maybe he's distancing himself from you so that if you two decide to call off the wedding, it won't hurt either of you as much as it would."

* * *

><p>Bella wiped away at the condensation on her glass of water, trying to keep herself from looking at Jasper again. She'd been staring at him for most of the night, thinking of ways to start a conversation, to somehow get information out of him. But all he'd been drinking that night was beer and he was only on his second bottle. He took his time, like he was savoring every sip as if it were some fine wine that's been aging in a cellar for ten years.<p>

He wasn't drunk enough for a slip up. He wasn't even close. Maybe he was feeling a light buzz but he was pretty focused. She doubted he was a lightweight and didn't want to risk asking something that made him suspicious.

"So, how're you and Alice?"

She watched as he lazily turned his head to face her, raising his shoulders ever so slightly then dropping them. "We're alright." He then turned his head back to the dance floor, head angled slightly.

Bella paused. _'Well so much for starting a conversation.'_

Her eyes travelled to the dance floor, trying to see what had his attention. She didn't see anything worth watching, but whatever it was must be interesting to him. She took in a deep breath, her shoulders slumping as she let it out.

"Are you just going to drink beer tonight?"

He sighed, turning his body completely to face Bella. "I don't really know. Are you just going to drink water for the rest of the night?"

"I have to. I'm the designated driver for the night."

He gave her a small smile. "I guess that makes two of us then."

"If you want, I'll get you a shot."

He tilted his head from left to right before nodding. "Okay, just one."

"_Just _one?" Bella grinned.

"We'll see how the first one goes. Besides, I'm driving tonight."

"Is Alice drinking tonight?"

He frowned slightly. "I'm not really sure. I don't think she is."

"Good, then she can drive. I'll be right back with your shots."

"Shots? I thought I was just taking one."

"We'll see. I'll be back."

Bella stood and began to make her way to the bar, letting out a relieved sigh. Getting Jasper to agree to take shots was easier than she expected, but just how many would it take for him to finally be unaware of what he was saying and just say it?

Leaning against the bar table top, she leaned over and lifted her arm ever so slightly. The bartender raised a brow.

"Five shots." She fishes out a twenty from her back pocket and leaves it on the table.

With a grunt, the bartender slides over a tray. She grabbed the tray and made her way back to Jasper, catching eyes with Edward who stood at the end of the bar. She quickly averted her eyes, walking a bit faster as best as she could without spilling.

Finally, she set the tray down onto the table and plopped into her seat. "Drink up."

His eyes were slightly wide as he glanced down at the table. "I thought it was just one shot."

"And I'm telling you that Alice could probably drive you guys home, so go nuts. I didn't just spend twenty bucks for you to waste them all."

Time seemed to go by quickly as she watched him down the five shots from the tray. Once he was done, he was leaning back in his chair completely and each time he blinked, he looked he would fall asleep. Could it be that Jasper was a lightweight? Bella didn't think that he'd get to the point of sleep after five shots. Seven, maybe.

"You feeling okay there, big guy?"

She watched as he nodded slowly, his eyelids drooping slightly. "Do you want more shots?"

"Nah, I'm good. Great, even." He grinned. "Except…" His grin began to disappear, a frown taking over his face.

"Except?"

"Except I don't think Alice is feeling as great as I am."

Bella raised a brow. "Why not?"

"Because I never wanna hang out with her that much anymore. She can't blame me though! She's always so busy." He began to speak faster, causing his words to slur and blend. "And I mean, I still love Alice, of course I do but I don't love her like I used to love her because that's a special kind of love, you know? And I don't know, I just feel like she's not the one for me anymore but how am I supposed to tell her that? It'd kill her, Bella, _kill _her."

Clearing her throat, Bella ignored the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Kill her?" Was this it? Was this her chance to find something out that Jasper never meant to reveal?

"Yeah, it would."

"You think that telling her you don't love her anymore would kill her?"

"Well, yeah, there's that."

"Is there something else?"

"Sort of."

"Do you know anyone that died from being told that someone didn't love them anymore?"

"I don't know anyone who died from _that, _but I know someone died from something else."

Bella's heart began to pound. God, why didn't she have a wire or something on her? How else would she prove this? She felt stupid for not thinking this through. Then again, she wasn't aware that he'd be here tonight either. Maybe she'd get lucky and convince him to go out for drinks tomorrow night and be sure to be prepared.

He sighed, looking at her for a bit. "Well, there's this thing that I've been keeping to myself and I don't know—"

"Jasper."

They both turned their heads to the voice, Bella mentally slamming her face into the table. Edward stood there, staring directly at Jasper.

"Oh, hi Eddie. I was just talking to Bella."

"I can see that. Jazz, can I talk to you?"

"Uh, sure." Jasper looked over at Bella, giving her a look. Maybe it was him trying to look apologetic.

Jasper slowly stood from his chair, his hand shooting out to rest on the table to balance. He took a deep breath before looking at Edward.

"C'mon." Edward took hold of Jasper's arm and rested it across his shoulders. "I need to talk to you in private about a few things and then you can come back and talk to Bella, okay?"

"It's okay." Bella gave them both a small smile. "Don't worry about it. I think we're going to head out soon anyway."

Edward nodded. "Okay then."

She watched as the two slowly made their way through the dance floor until she finally lost sight of them. She slumped in her chair, frustrated. Whatever it was Jasper was about to say, she felt like it was something important, something that would help her piece things together. If only Edward hadn't interrupted him and taken him away. Bella felt like Edward knew exactly what she was doing the moment he saw her with the tray of shots. It was like he was monitoring Jasper and what he'd say in case he slipped up.

For someone who was drinking for most of the night, Edward seemed to be completely aware of what he said. He was apparently also very good at reading facial expressions because there was no way he'd be able to hear what Jasper was saying from where they sat or over the music. Whether Edward really did have to talk to Jasper about something or if he was trying to protect them both from what Jasper might have said, Bella seemed to be making absolutely no progress on the case.


	11. Chapter 11

**Honest, I have no idea what happened to my muse. A few changes have been happening in my life and I guess I let those get the best of me. Anyway, if you're still following this, I kiss the ground you walk on for doing so, haha. Anyway, the guilt has been getting to me and I cranked this one out for the sake of getting things moving. Also, this has gotta be the shortest chapter. Or at least, it feels that way. **

**Guerilla Warfare: Well now I feel like you should be writing this instead. I'm so tempted to do that but then you'd already know what would happen (x**

* * *

><p>Bella stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, her arms tucked beneath her head. Wasn't she in this same position the night after dinner with Carlisle and his family? How could it be that she found herself in this position again after a night out with Alice but not really <em>with <em>her? Her failed attempt at trying to coax whatever information out of Jasper was put to an end the moment Edward arrived and as she sat alone, her want to go home increased.

She remembered getting to Olivia after a few minutes to herself. She remembered Angela leaning heavily against her as the three of them walked toward her car. She remembered walking Angela up to her apartment only to return to her car with the faint smell of puke lingering on her but mostly her shoes. She remembered the quiet drive to Olivia's, how her head was resting against the headrest completely, eyes closed. She remembered how halfway to Olivia's, she rolled her head to the side to stare at Bella, her brows furrowed. She also remembered the look of absolute confusion that crossed Olivia's face before she turned her head to look out of the window.

"_I'm glad that we're okay," Olivia mumbled._

_Bella's eyes stayed glued to the road. "What do you mean? Did you think we were going to be attacked or something?"_

"_No, I mean our relationship. I'm glad you still actually want to spend time with me and want to get to know more about me."_

"_Oh. Well, yeah, of course." Bella glanced over at Olivia, who had her eyes closed, breathing slowly. "Why wouldn't we be?"_

"_What do you think will happen if we keep seeing each other?"_

_Bella gripped the steering wheel just a bit tighter. Tonight was just not her night, if what she thought was going to happen actually happened. "I don't know. We'll have to find out."_

"_But what if we see each other for so long that we suddenly get so comfortable with each other and stop getting excited to see each other and learn more? What if we suddenly know everything there is to know and we're just in this relationship because of that?"_

"_Well—"_

"_I mean, I would love to know you. All of you. A few days ago, I was going home from work and started to wonder if we were going to buy each other Christmas presents."_

"_We can if you want to."_

_Bella parked her car at the front of Olivia's house, unbuckling her seatbelt._

"_We can, can't we?"_

_Bella nodded slowly. "If you'd like to, yes."_

"_But it worries me, you know. The possibility of us being so comfortable with each other that we don't want to risk losing this relationship because we aren't sure if there's anything else left for us out there."_

"_That's a risk that comes with most relationships, isn't it?"_

_Olivia unbuckled her seatbelt and sat forward. "It is."_

_They sat together in silence, Olivia looking straight ahead and Bella looking straight at Olivia. She cleared her throat. "What brought this on, anyway?"_

"_I talked to Alice tonight, about her and Jasper."_

"_Oh. They're engaged, aren't they?"_

"_They are."_

"_What does their relationship have to do with our relationship?"_

"_They've been together for a long time, you know. And I asked Alice how they were tonight and she wasn't so sure. She told me lots of things that I probably shouldn't say but it scares me that it can happen. To anyone, even us."_

_Bella could feel her throat tighten and the blush on her cheeks. Right now wasn't the time to get flustered over Alice and her apparently imperfect romance. _

"_We'll get each other Christmas presents." Olivia opened her door. "I'll call you tomorrow."_

_Bella's eyes followed Olivia as she got to her front door, struggling a bit before getting it unlocked. She waved slightly when her eyes met Olivia's._

Bella rolled over onto her side, staring at her clock. 6:07AM. She woke up almost an hour before her alarm and she felt like the day would never start for her.

She reached over and turned off the alarm then rolled out of bed. The wood flooring was cold, causing her to shiver. Bella went through her morning routine slowly, taking twice as long as it usually should. The moment she had completely changed, she glanced at her clock. 6:45AM. If she were still asleep, she'd have fifteen more minutes of sleep, along with the extra hour after for her to get ready.

Bella made her way into her kitchen, Bernie already sitting near his bowl, waiting. He glanced up at her, eyes wide. She cleared her throat, reaching into the cupboards for a bowl for herself. "Morning, big guy."

She poured food into his bowl, tightly rolling the top of the bag closed after. The sound of him eating caused her stomach to clench, realizing just how unappetizing food sounded to her at the moment. Bella plopped herself down onto a stool at the kitchen table, her chin resting in an upturned palm. "I know I'm up earlier than usual. I hope you don't mind your day starts just a bit early too."

The sound of him slurping at the water in his other bowl was all Bella heard. She continued to sit there, staring at Bernie. Once he finished, he turned to look at her. "Finished?" She hopped off the stool, squatting down to pull him into a small hug. Pulling back, she settled herself onto the floor of the kitchen, her hand resting on his head.

"We're comfortable with each other, aren't we? You still get excited to see me every day, right? Even if it's just because you know I feed you?"

Bella stared at him for a while before releasing a small sigh. She straightened back up and headed into the living room. Plopping onto the couch, she heard the familiar sound of claws on hardwood floor. "What's there to do today, Bernie?" She looked over at him, finding him situated on the floor with eyes closed.

Her shoulders sagged slightly. "You're going to sleep?"

He opened his eyes and stared at her for a few seconds before closing them again.

* * *

><p>"Olivia, I need a favor."<p>

She groaned, dropping her head face first into her pillow. "Jake, do you know what time it is?"

"It's almost three o'clock. What the hell are you talking about? I need a favor."

"You're not exactly my top priority." Olivia rolled onto her back, letting out a deep breath. "Make it quick, Jake. I've got a headache the size of your ego and it's taking all of my willpower to not just hang up on you."

"Okay, how 'bout this? I don't need a favor but my dad does. Are you interested yet?" She could hear the smile in his voice, clenching her fist around the thin blanket that she had twisted herself into.

"You're an ass, Jake. What does he need me to do?"

"A hit."

"Uh, _no_, I'm not getting my hands dirty. I'll do your stupid drug deals but I'm not killing anyone."

"Well it's not like _I'm _going to risk getting my hands dirty. If I get caught, no one will be around to take care of my dad. So, it's on you."

"Don't you have your other losers you can have do this?"

"I've got a bunch of idiots around here and if they do it, it'll take less than a day for us to be caught. You're the next best thing. Look, I'll text you everything you need to know. For now, get the hell outta bed. Quit wasting your day. You need to start preparing."

"You want this done _tonight_?"

"I sure as hell didn't call you to give you a month to prepare, so get up."

With a huff, Olivia tossed her phone onto the pillow beside her. "This is such crap."

She pushed herself out of bed, going into the bathroom and starting her morning routine. As she finished getting dressed, she heard her phone go off on her bed. With a groan, Olivia dropped herself onto her bed and searched her bed for her phone. Feeling it tangled beneath the sheets, she tugged until her hand was able to grab it.

Unlocking her screen, she went straight to her text messages. Her eyes quickly scanned over the information she was sent, and dropped her face onto a pillow. _'I don't have to leave until 11:30 tonight. Why am I even awake? Why am I even _dressed_? Damnit, I could be _sleeping_.'_

* * *

><p>Bella twirled her pen between her fingers, leaning back in her chair. It was quiet for a Saturday and not many people were around, but this case has gotten absolutely nowhere. With Carlisle gone and her doubts about the replacement medical examiner for the time being, she didn't want to risk it. She'd rather wait it out for someone she trusted than someone she would cram her foot up their ass before they even opened their mouth.<p>

With a huff, she eyed the envelope that had been sitting on her desk all morning. Her curiosity was slowly getting to her and her resolve to leave it be was slowly dissolving. The thought that the envelope held important information about the case drove her nuts but she knew that if she opened it and there was a lead, she'd be out on her own and getting herself into serious shit.

She grabbed the envelope and stuck it under a pile of paperwork she had yet to finish, and let out a frustrated growl. _'This is stupid. Ridiculous. I should be able to read whatever is inside that envelope and _not _do something stupid. I have self-control! Not exactly the strongest… but it's there. Oh fuck it, who am I kidding? I'd screw myself over before I even followed through with the lead.'_

Throwing her hands up in surrender, she pushed her chair away from her desk and turned herself around to face the elevators. _'Okay. Angela comes in at three. I just need to wait. I can totally wait… right? Besides, Angela's punctual. And it's already two-ish. She'll get here and we'll look at whatever is inside the envelope, and we'll go from there. End of story.'_

The sound of elevator doors sliding opened caused Bella's eyes to snap up. She frowned. _'I need to stop getting my hopes up. I have at least half an hour until Angela shows up.' _Spinning herself around so that she faced her desk, she scooted herself in close. Taking in a deep breath, she grabbed the folder for her current case and flipped it open. She had just about everything in this file memorized and the pictures clipped to the left side were burned into the back of her eyelids.

Leaning back into her chair, away from the file, Bella tipped her head back and felt the blood slowly rush to her head. Slowly rolling her head forward, she found herself a little breathless at the action. Bella sat up completely, as she leaned forward toward the file. _'I've gotta be missing something. There has to be something I keep looking over.'_

She propped her chin onto her fist, eyes unfocused as she let herself get lost in her own mind. It felt like it had been a mere five minutes when she heard Angela grumbling to herself at her own desk. Slightly thrown off, Bella focused on Angela then glanced at the clock. It was almost four o'clock and she hadn't even noticed Angela had arrived. _'What the fuck?'_

Clearing her throat, Bella grabbed the envelope from beneath the pile and sauntered over to Angela's desk. She slid onto the edge of Angela's desk, feet dangling slightly.

"So…"

"What do you want, Bella? I've got a hangover bigger than the Eiffel Tower and I'm not in the mood to play the guessing game."

Her jaw dropping ever so slightly, Bella silently dropped the envelope in front of Angela.

"The fuck is this?" Angela picked it up, turning it around and side to side.

"It's an invitation to my fuckin' Sweet Sixteen. RSVP by tomorrow. You want fish or chicken?" With a huff, Bella slid off of Angela's desk, hands at her hips. "What the fuck do you think it is, Angela? It's gotta be some kinda evidence or tip or something! Come on, seriously, if you're gonna come into work, don't ask stupid questions."

"Oh-kay, someone's got their panties in a twist. It was just a fuckin' question. For all I know, maybe it _is _an invitation to your Sweet Sixteen. Well, what the hell do you want me to do with this?"

"Are you serious? Open it!"

Angela paused, looking at Bella like she lost her mind. Shaking her head, she tossed the envelope back down onto her desk. "You're kidding. Why didn't you just open it on your own? Are you scared it's going to give you a fuckin' paper cut?"

"Just open it already!"

Rolling her eyes, Angela tore the envelope open, a single piece of paper visible. "Do you want to read the note or are you afraid you might get a paper cut from this too?"

"You do it. Protect me from the big, bad edges from the paper, will you? I don't think I could handle much more."

"Weak." Angel pulled out the piece of paper, unfolding it. Her eyes scanned over the letter, brows drawn together

"Well?" Bella began to tap her foot, arms crossed. "What does it say?"

"Uh, well, I'm not so sure. Does this even have anything to do with the case?" She slid the paper over toward Bella, scratching the back of her head.

Snatching it up, Bella's eyes quickly scanned the contents of the letter. "Who… who the fuck is Rachel Davis and what does she have to do with Jessica's murder?"


	12. Chapter 12

**School recently started and I don't even know what sleep means so if things don't make any sense, it's all on me. I have to admit, this is a sort of filler chapter but it kind of sets things up. Sort of.**

**Guerilla Warfare: If you do know who Rachel Davis is, then I'm going to assume I've been discussing the plot with you which would make no sense at all. Also, my dear, I don't think I could do justice to your idea D:**

* * *

><p>Bella stared at her computer screen, a photo of Rachel Davis staring back at her. Leaning back into her chair, she focused on Angela, who was furiously typing away at her computer. "Find anything?"<p>

"Mostly everything I need to know about her. Birthday, social security, credit cards, cars… there's just one problem." Angela sighed, rubbing her forehead. "The problem is that she's sort of disappeared from society. I mean, she hasn't made a charge on her credit card for about four years now. Her bank account hasn't been touched and there's no recent address of where she is. I dunno, Bella, it's like she went into hiding. Why would she risk being exposed?"

"This doesn't make sense. Why would someone leave a tip about her if she basically went into hiding? How do they even know her? Or that she exists?" Bella's eyes strayed back to the picture, going over the dirty blonde hair, the green eyes, and the slight frown tugging at the corners of Rachel's lips.

"Maybe they wanna get back at her. Maybe she did something to someone and whoever it was wants revenge. Could be why she pretty much went into hiding."

"Maybe… If this tip is true, what are we going to do? Wait it out and put whoever's life it is in danger?" Bella picked up the envelope, staring at the blank space. "Does she have anything on her records?"

"Uh, a DUI… and she was arrested for possession of cocaine twice."

Biting her lip, Bella switched tabs on her computer. "Okay, so someone involved with drugs. There are way too many people in the drug business to even narrow down… There's _no _address associated with her?"

"One. A job she worked at before she fell off the face of the Earth." Angela spun her chair around toward the printer behind her, snatching a piece of paper. The sound of her pen scratching on the paper quickly along with her tongue peeking out at the corner of her mouth caused Bella to lose her train of thought.

"Dude… what the fuck?"

"Shut up."

Rubbing her forehead, she slouched low in her seat. "I just seriously hope that this isn't a waste of freakin' time."

"Shut _up._"

"Stop telling me to shut up! I'm trying to figure this out while you're over there doodling."

"I swear, if you don't shut the fuck up, I'm going to shove my foot so far up your ass, you'll have my toes as teeth."

Her jaw dropping for the second time, Bella squeezed her eyes shut. _'Oh my god, what the hell did she just _say_? Please tell me I imagined that.'_

"Okay, so, this Rachel Davis or whatever worked in a factory near the biggest drug trafficking city. Let's say she worked at this factory as a cover or to get the cash she needed for her own fix. She fucks up at work, loses her job, can't get her fix, and makes a deal. When the time to pay rolls around, she's in more debt so she skips town. No one reports her missing because they don't wanna get their hands dirty and she has no family _because _of her addiction. Maybe someone heard through the grapevine that she's coming back and whoever she scammed wants her to pay up."

"I am so confused."

"About what? Didn't I just explain my guess?"

"No, I mean, why did you need the paper? What was the point of doodling?"

"You have your way and I have mine. It helps with my thought process so quit judging. You were _no _help at all."

"I showed you the envelope, didn't I?"

Angela rolled her eyes. "If you didn't, you'd _still _be here like we are now. It doesn't make a difference if you showed me or not. Besides, you know better than to go somewhere without backup with your dumbass mistake from last time."

"You're such an asshole sometimes."

"I'm _honest _and I don't wanna see you get fucked up."

Bella batted her lashes, folding her hands over her heart. "Angela, was that you being _nice _and _caring_?"

Rolling her eyes, Angela crossed her arms. "Don't get used to it. You've used up my ten year allotment of being nice."

"And here I thought I used that up last year."

"Just tell me what you think of my theory already."

Shrugging her shoulders, Bella stretched her legs. "I think it's possible. I mean, it's not like it's the only possibility but it's worth investigating. What about you? Do you honestly think it's worth investigating or did you just make up that theory for the sake of it all?"

"I don't know. I'm a little doubtful. I mean, this anonymous tip is pretty much claiming that this Rachel Davis plans on doing a hit on someone and we don't even know if we can trust this informant. What if it's just a trap? What if we both go there to investigate only to get our asses kicked? Killed, even."

"But that's the risk with all anonymous tips! If we had that kind of mindset for every tip we received about a case, we wouldn't get anywhere."

"So, what? You wanna go?"

Bella bit her lip. "I _want _to but I don't wanna go in blind."

"We will, no matter what. It's not like I can Google what's currently happening there." Angela pulled herself out of her chair, hands tucked into the pockets of her slacks. "So? Do you want to or not?"

"Yeah." Bella bit her lip then stood. "Yeah, let's go."

The two made their way to the elevator, Bella pushing the down button multiple times before standing back.

When the doors slid open, they went inside, Bella turning to Angela. "I'm driving."

"Uh, _no_, I'm driving."

"If you drive, we won't make it outta the parking structure."

"First opening the envelope and now this? You _are _a wuss."

"No, I just wanna live to see tomorrow."

Angela shrugged. "I made it to the precinct in one piece, didn't I?"

* * *

><p>"Do you have any extra napkins?" Angela lifted her plate to look underneath then up to Bella. "I think I used my last one."<p>

Bella merely took another bite of her sandwich, shrugging.

"Come on, seriously. Do you? I don't wanna go back inside just for a napkin." Angela watched Bella slowly eat, before sighing. "Look, it wasn't my fault! I didn't know."

"You do not understand the level of frustration I have right now. How did you not check that?"

"It wasn't exactly my number one priority. What are the chances?!"

"Still."

"Well, what do you want me to do? Go back there and demand to have it opened? It's the fuckin' weekend; no one wants to come in!"

"How could you not check if the factory was open or not? Isn't that like, the first thing you should do before going anywhere? We drove a good two hours only to find out that they're closed for the day. Two hours I could've used to do something else."

"Jesus, Bella, what would you have been doing? Sitting at your desk and staring at the tip? At least we _tried_." Groaning, Angela stood. "Fine, forget it. It's my fault, yadda yadda. I'm done. You wanna head back with me or what?"

"Nah. Go ahead."

"Alright then."

Angela grabbed her trash and headed to the trashcan before leaving Gathering Grounds.

* * *

><p>Alice cleared her throat, a small smile on her lips. She watched as Bella's head snapped up, eyes widening ever so slightly.<p>

"Alice. Hi."

"Hi. Mind if I sit?"

"Oh, uh, no. Not at all." Bella grabbed at the old napkins scattered on the table and dropped them onto her now empty plate.

Gently placing her plate and cup onto the table, Alice lowered herself into the chair with a soft sigh.

"Day off today?"

Alice nodded, stabbing at her salad with her fork. "Mm, sort of. I was going to go in today but decided against it. I wouldn't have gotten anything done anyway. And you?"

"Just finished, actually." Bella stared at Alice's fork, which seemed to be backed by more force than necessary for a mere salad. "You… okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little edgy today."

"From drinking or from something else?"

"I didn't drink last night." Alice chewed thoughtfully before setting her fork down. "Jasper did though. More than he has in a long time, I think. He didn't wake up 'til after lunch today."

Bella felt the heat creep onto her cheeks, smiling guiltily. "That… that was my fault."

"I know." Alice grinned. "He told me while I was helping him into the car. Or, well, how nice it was of you to buy him drinks anyway. Should I be worried that you're coming onto him?"

"What? No!" At Alice's raised brow, Bella shook her head. "_No_."

A small laugh bubbled from Alice's lips, before she rolled her eyes. "I was _kidding_. I know you weren't trying to hit on him." She picked her fork back up, pointing it at Bella slightly. "But if you _were_, I think I'd be a little jealous."

"What for?"

"The fact that you'd hit on Jasper before _me_. Duh. You're gay, right?"

"Right…"

"So the fact that you wouldn't even bother to hit on me before moving on to a _guy _is a bit insulting. I would think that I'm sort of a catch."

Bella chuckled, giving Alice a small shrug. "I'm not so sure on the catch thing, but I'd probably hit on you for the sake of hitting on you. If you turned me down, it wouldn't matter because I'd still get to hit on Jasper after."

Alice gasped, her eyes wide. "Bella! Now I'm insulted." Her lips formed a slight pout before poking at her salad once again. "And here I thought you liked me."

"Eh." Bella waved her hand slightly, pressing her lips into a thin line to try and prevent herself from grinning.

"Mean." Alice took another bite of her salad, focused on the leafy greens.

They sat there in silence for a little while longer until Alice flashed a smile and pushed her tray away from her. "What're you doing today, Bella?"

"I'm not sure. Go home and sleep?"

"You're kidding. You've got the rest of the day to yourself and you're just going to sleep it away?"

"That's the plan. What're you doing today?"

With a huff, Alice sunk in her seat just a bit. "Nothing. I _was _going to hang out with Jasper today but since he's nursing a hangover bigger than a castle, he doesn't wanna do anything today. He wants to go out tonight but since I work tomorrow, I don't want to. So we're doing our own thing today, I guess. I was thinking of shopping but shopping's no fun alone. Unless…" Alice looked at Bella from beneath her lashes, another pout making its way onto her face.

"Unless?"

"Unless you come with me? Please?"

"Me? Shopping? Uh, that's not really my thing, Alice."

"I know but you haven't gone shopping with _me _yet." She batted her lashes. "Pretty please, Bella?"

"I…" Bella sighed, her hand coming up and rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm not the greatest shopping buddy, to be quite honest. I don't wanna ruin your day out."

"You won't. I promise."

* * *

><p>"Alice." A sigh. "Alice?"<p>

"Yeah?"

"Are we done in here yet?"

Alice looked up from the clothes rack and at Bella, who stood with different blouses, dresses, jeans, and shorts in her arms. "Almost, I promise. Just five more minutes."

"You said that five minutes ago and five minutes ago _before_. Come on, Alice, we've gone around the store at least twice. I'm pretty sure they didn't bring out anything new."

Rolling her eyes, Alice went back to looking at the rack of button-ups. "I know that but I just want to make sure I don't miss anything. Besides, it's the last store for _me _so I need to be thorough."

"I think you just don't wanna go into any of _my _stores."

"That's… silly. Ridiculous, even. We made a deal and I plan to stick with it."

"Uh huh. Okay, whatever you say, Alice."

They continued to circle the store and after going around a third time, they were headed to the next store.

"You're impossible, you know that right?" Bella led the way, her hands tucked into the pockets of her slacks.

"What do you mean?"

"We were in that store for at least an hour. We went around it at least three times and you had me carry so many different clothes at once, I felt like I was carrying heavy wool. Then, when you finally finished, you went through what you picked out and didn't buy a single thing. What was the whole point of going in there and picking out all of those clothes?"

"Ah, Bella, you really aren't a fan of shopping." Alice tugged at the sleeves of her button-up, and then flashed Bella a grin. "Why would I just go into a store, pick up something I like, and just buy it? I have to make sure I still like it at the end. If I don't, then I probably wouldn't have liked it enough to wear and that, my dear, would've been a waste of money."

"That is so complicated; I don't even understand how some people do that."

"It takes skill."

"Yeah, it takes a skill that I clearly don't possess which I don't mind."

"You're just grumpy. Come on, what store are we going to next?"

"Oh no, I'm not telling. If I do, you might try and get out of it."

"I would never do that!"

"Right, sure."

"Bella." Alice raised a brow, a small frown in place. "I wouldn't."

"Okay, whatever you say. I didn't say you would."

Bella began to climb the stairs at an easy pace, concentrating on the sound of her shoes hitting each step.

"Yeah, but you were implying it." With a groan, Alice followed Bella up the stairs. "You do realize there's a perfectly good escalator that works, right?"

"I figure you don't do much working out so what better way than to do it at the one place you love the most?"

"Rude! I don't just sit on my butt and draw all day, you know. I work out every now and then when I get the chance. I used to run a lot but I've been in a rut lately, so I haven't had the time. I'm in pretty good shape though."

"Well, why don't you go running?"

"Bella, I just told you—"

"No, I mean, why don't you go running to clear your head? Maybe it'll help get you out of your rut." Finally at the top of the stairs, Bella turned to look at Alice. "Edward told me you've been in this rut for a long time now so maybe you just need a good run. Clear your mind."

"It's not like I haven't tried. I just don't really have the time to." Alice linked her arm with Bella's, tugging her along. "Sorry, we were blocking the top of the stairs. Kind of a pet peeve when people do that to me."

"It's alright." Bella veered them to the right, her store of choice already in sight. "Well, what stops you from going out and running? Do you lack motivation? Or do you just not feel like it?"

"A little bit of both. I tell myself that I'm going to run but I just never get to it. Sometimes I'll get hit with inspiration or I have to sort out a problem with the upcoming show. I don't know. Maybe I just really don't like running."

"Maybe you should get someone to go running with you. Why don't you ask Jasper? I'm sure he wouldn't mind accompanying you."

"I doubt it." As they stood outside of a store, Alice looked up at the sign then back at Bella. "Really?"

"It's a guilty pleasure. Even if I already have a dog, I just like looking at all the puppies. It brings back memories."

"So we're not really buying anything here?"

"Well, if you want a dog, you can get one."

"Oh no, that's not a good idea. Jasper doesn't exactly get along with dogs."

"How does he not get along with dogs?" Bella shook her head, heading into the pet store.

"I'm not sure. He just never liked them. Oh," Alice paused at the first aisle, her eyes trained on the small basset hound whose ears grazed the ground as it stood. "So cute."

They both stood and stared at the basset hound as it paced around, stumbling over its ears every now and then. It paused to look at them both, head tilted ever so slightly.

"Oh my god, get me away from here," Alice murmured. "Look at those eyes."

"It's telling you to take it home with you." Bella grinned, leaning forward to look at the sticker at the top right of the glass case. "It's a boy. His name's Ollie."

"So cute." Alice squealed softly, squatting to her knees, and pressing her face against the glass slightly. She stared straight at the small pup that was now up on its hind legs with its front paws on the glass.

* * *

><p>"Jasper's going to kill me." Alice sighed, her head coming to rest on her forearms as she lay on her stomach on the ground. Her eyes focused the small basset hound that was napping in front of her.<p>

"I doubt it. He might not even notice the little guy." Bella leaned back on the couch, her body sinking into it.

"Mm, maybe. I'm sure he'll notice if his favorite pair of shoes are chewed up though."

"Shoes are shoes. You can always replace them."

Rolling onto her back, Alice rested her hands on her stomach. "Are you sure I don't need to puppy proof around here?"

"From what I've seen, there's not much to change. Maybe hide your favorite shoes so he doesn't chew on it but I think you're fine. You've got a pretty good backyard and you don't have carpet. I think you're pretty safe."

"Okay, if you say so. You're going to help me with him, right?"

"What're you talking about? You just need to tell Jasper and have them get along and you should be home free."

"No, I meant with Ollie. I don't really know much about dogs, you know."

"Oh, yeah, of course I'll help."

"Great." Sitting up, Alice ran a hand through her hair. "Are you hungry? I can call somewhere that delivers."

"Sure, sounds good. Whatever you're up for." Bella slowly stood, stretching. "Um, mind if I use the bathroom?"

"Yeah, go for it. Down the hall, second door to your left. Is pizza okay?"

"No sardines or pineapple and you've got yourself a deal. I'll be right back."

Bella made her way toward the bathroom, her eyes latching on to the pictures on the wall. Her hand gently trailed along the wall in the hallway, noting its lack of photos until she reached the bathroom. Slipping in, she gently closed the door behind her and locked it.

She turned toward the sink, the soft green color of the walls bouncing off the mirror. She began to wash her hands, noting that the soap was cucumber melon. A hint of a smile tugged at her lips as the scent of the soap lingered on her hands after she finished.

Hands now dry, she rubbed at her face, trying to get rid of the sleep out of her system. For someone so small, Alice had more energy than she expected. And when she was debating on whether or not to get Ollie, Bella found it endearing at just how much thought she put into it.

With a yawn, Bella left the bathroom and headed back to the living room where she found Alice on her back once more, but with a very awake Ollie on her stomach.

"Oh, you're back. I was starting to wonder if you got lost." Alice's eyes stayed on Ollie, her hand gently scratching the top of his head.

"Yeah, just a little. I lost count with so many doors in the hallway, I looked in each one." Bella dropped herself onto the couch, positioning herself onto her side so she could see Alice. "You have some interesting things."

"Did you like the torture devices in the first room on the right? I usually save that for the third house visit a person makes." Alice gently set Ollie down onto the floor beside her before sitting up. "Is pepperoni okay? I didn't really know what to get so I went with something common."

Bella snorted. "Yeah, all those bags of clothes were pure torture."

"It should be. That's my return pile."

The harsh knocking on the door caused them both to jump slightly. Alice stood from the floor, dusting the imaginary lint from herself.

"Pizza's here." Alice rummaged through her purse, grabbing a twenty and headed towards the door. Unlocking the door, her eyes roamed up past the shoes, the black pants, and the black shirt. Eyes wide, she lifted her hand in a slight wave. "Olivia, hi."


End file.
